


Oh, The Sarcasm (Expendables FanFiction)

by awkward_reaper13



Category: The Expendables (Movies)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-03-16 04:44:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 56,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13628844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awkward_reaper13/pseuds/awkward_reaper13
Summary: Mercenary, Evie Roberts used to work for CIA Operative, Church, until she quit. Big deal. She had her sarcastic attitude and reckless behavior to keep her company.But then the Expendables come into play. Over time, one member becomes a father figure, another turns into the older brother Evie never had, two become her best friends in the whole world and one is her new secret admirer. Who is who and which is which? Read to find out!





	1. Prologue & Chapter 1

Evie's POV

"Why become a mercenary?" 

"You could have been a doctor!"

"Why couldn't you be normal?"

"Evie, your awesome!"

Those were the last things I heard my family say to me before I left with CIA Operative, Church. My little sister, Darcy, was only a couple years younger than me when I left after graduating high school and a year in an online college for Chemistry and Psychological Studies. School sucked so I grabbed a not-so-relevant diploma early and booked it out of town to start my new job. 

Being a Mercenary! 

I've always been a violent child. I got into fights- for good reason- at school ALL the time. My parents thought I had slight anger issues, so they signed me up for martial arts, to which I aced in no time. I almost had a spot at being a teacher, but I refused, only because it go in the way of school. 

My parents thought I was insane for my love of chemistry and psychological studies, but I've done my research and the best way to being a great mercenary is to know what the enemy is thinking, which is why I took a class in Psychological Studies, chemistry was just interesting and could come in handy in the future. 

As for now, I gave one final hug to Darcy and got in the van with my all of three medium sized duffel bags. I had a place set up in New Orleans. Small, one bedroom apartment, mediocre sized kitchen which was big enough for me since I don't have a boyfriend and probably never will. It had a guest bathroom, for what reason, I don't know since there was a bathroom attached to the bedroom. There was a second, much smaller room, but I decided to make it my office. Church set up someone to come in a set up a wall sized book shelf that had a secret compartment behind it that I could load with all the weapons my little heart desired. His words exactly. 

The car ride was silent. Church sat beside me, texting away on his phone. I played with the hem of my black Metallica shirt. It was the Master of Puppets album cover on it. It was by far, my favorite shirt, other than my one that says "Sniper" on top with a scope underneath and with "No Need To Run, You'll Only Die Tired.". That one I used mainly as a workout shirt. 

Church also organized to get me my protective gear as soon as we hit the CIA Operative building in New Orleans, but the thing I was excited most about was visiting a certain tattoo shop. The artist there's name was Tool. And odd name for a man, but it fit. I saw some of his artwork on a website somewhere and have always wanted a tattoo from him. And now that dream will come true as soon as I'm done getting settled. 

-Time Skip to New Orleans and 2 years into the future-

Turns out, working for Church wasn't what it seemed like at the time I left home, but what can you expect from a 20 year old girl, fresh out of an online college and ready to kill some scums over seas. I ended up quitting and working on my own terms. I was an Ex-CIA and I hated that label. 

I got to keep the apartment, only because I pulled Church out of the dirt a couple times when the government threatened him. But after I can to New Orleans, I got way to caught up in work that I never got the time to get a tattoo. 

But then I quit...

And opportunity prevailed.

~End of Prologue~

 

Evie's POV

I came back from a job given to me by an underground association. The job was simple. Bring back a chip with the blueprints to a warehouse to bring down a drug cartel and free the two hostages used as bait and gambling tools. I finished in the matter of 3 days and spent another 4 travelling to and from Nigeria. I came out with only a couple minor scrapes and bruises, including ones around my neck from when some guy tried to strangle me, but it was easily cover able. The association paid me $200, 000 and gave me a new vest since mine was pretty shredded now after all the years of getting shot at and not replacing or fixing it. 

They also scheduled me an appointment at Tool's tattoo shop. I had my own sketch of what I wanted going down my spine and starting at the base of my neck. It was a huge back piece and would probably take a couple of visits to get done, but it was going to turn out great! It was a peacock that's feathers would trail down my spine with a bunch of Lily flowers and vines until it hit my lower back and it would stop. I had enough money saved up in my glove compartment to pay for the beautiful piece. 

The engine of my 1970 dark red Chevelle hummed to a stop in front of the shop as I parked and turned off the car. I got out and locked the doors. I grabbed my wallet and money out of the glove compartment before hand and went inside through the garage door that was open. 

"Hello?" I called as I watched the open sign flash. Motorcycles were lines up across the wall to my left and on my right, by the other small entrance door was a small kitchen that consisted of a fridge and a sink below a small cabinet. There was a small desk and another motorcycle next to a tattoo stand. It was dimly lit until a older fellow came out of the lift dead ahead of me. 

"Well, hello, darlin'. How can I help you this fine mornin'?" The man asked. He was dressed in roughed up blue jeans and a leather jacket. He hair was shaggy and had white streaks that were noticeable in the dim light he was standing under. 

"Uh, my name is Evie Roberts. I have an appointment for a tattoo." I spoke, trying not to sound nervous. 

"Ah! Evie! My buddy told me you would be in. Come on over, take a seat." He told me as he sat down at the small desk with a long, wooden tobacco pipe in one hand and a stack of papers in the other. 

"This must be Tool. He's quite the character." I thought to myself as I set my jacket on a stray chair. 

"What were your ideas for this piece?" He asked, throwing the papers in his hands into a drawer and setting his pipe on the table in a little holder. 

I, uh, I actually sketched something myself. Maybe you can give me your opinion on it. maybe add some things here and there." I told him, pulling my neatly folded piece of paper out of the back pockets of my jeans and handing it to him. He examined the drawing carefully, humming a couple times before looking back up at me. 

"And you said you drew this?" He asked curiously. I nodded as he looked back down at the paper. 

"It's very nice. Where were you thinking of getting it?"

"Down the center of my back, starting at the base of my neck." I answered, shifting my weight from my left leg to my right. 

"Why don't we add something small at the top, by the birds head, like a ribbon or a banner or something. Maybe put a little message in it or something." He suggested, still looking at the paper, but pointing it out to me. I immediately thought of Darcy, my little sister. 

"Yeah, that could work. Just a simple banner. Maybe my little sisters name inside. " I agreed. Tool grabbed a notebook and a pencil from the desk. 

"Alright, you take a seat there on the bike with your shirt of, please and I'll sketch it up and we'll get started." I nodded and did as he said. I held my shirt the my chest, covering my bust and the front of my bra. I looked in the mirror and saw him thinking and sketching, thinking and sketching; often tracing the pencil down my spine in the direction of where the tattoo would go , but without making contact. I ended up gazing at my reflection a little bit. My long brown hair was in desperate need of a trim and my face and neck was covered in makeup to hide the bruises and scrapes from my last job. I admired my eyeliner job I did around my green eyes this morning. My hand was very steady this morning, unlike every other day. 

"What's, your sisters name? I'll include it in the sketch." Tool asked, breaking the silence. 

"Darcy Anne-Marie." I told him and he scribbled it down inside the banner before showing me his slightly modified version of my drawing. It was awfully close to mine except for the minor placement changes and the banner. I gave him the nod of approval and he went over to this other table in the corner, probably putting the sketch onto a thinner paper outlined with ink. 

Before I knew it, the purple ink version of the sketch was on my back and he was beginning to outline the whole thing in thin black lines, easily hid-able in the overall tattoo when it was done. 

"With the size of this piece and the time we have today, I'll probably get the outline and most of the coloring in the top part done today and you'll have to reschedule another day to come in and get it finished," Tool said, concentrating mostly on the outline. I felt the pinprick of the tattoo gun, but it didn't hurt overly as much as people have told me. Maybe it was because I had a higher pain tolerance than most people and to be brutally honest, my job was more painful than a tattoo. 

About three hours in, I couldn't feel the pain anymore. Tool had finished the major outline of the tattoo and had begun coloring, shading and highlighting the banner with Darcy's name. We had a pleasant conversation about family life and bikes and cars before a bike came into the shop. Tool paused to see who it was before turning back and continued coloring my skin. I felt a little nervous since the back of my bra was unlatched and my top half was practically nude other than me holding my shirt to my chest. 

"Hey, Gunner. How's life going?" Tool asked the man that had just entered the shop. I peered over my shoulder to get a look at him, but I quickly looked away when he glanced over here. From what I saw, he was tall, very tall, taller than me by a mile. 

Not really, but he was tall. And angry looking. Like he just got back from a bar fight. His sandy blonde hair fell in front of his left eye as he took off his biker helmet and parked his motorcycle in the middle of the shop. 

"Not good. Got kicked off the team. Apparently, they can't trust me no more." The man said. He grew closer to where we were and I saw him in the mirror in front of me. He had a scar on the right side of his face in a little upside down U shape under his eye. 

"What happened?'' Tool asked, still concentrating on my tattoo. A sense of awkwardness fell over me. They were obviously having a personal conversation and I couldn't do anything but listen in creepily. 

"It doesn't matter. What's done is done. "The man said, sitting done in the chair I had recently put my jacket on the back. 

"I see you've finally got another piece to work on. " the man grumbled after Tool didn't respond. 

"Why, yes. This is Evie. The sketch she brought in was definitely a beauty. Its on the desk with you wanna look at it. " Tool told him. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched the man stroll over and picked up my paper. I turned my head to see his reaction. he looked kind of taken back by the picture before nodding. 

"It's a nice sketch," he said to no one in particular. "You draw like this all the time?" he asked me. I tensed a bit at the sudden acknowledge of my existence before answering. 

"Not all the time. Just in my free time. Why?" He shook his head.

"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking of getting another tattoo. Just don't know of what yet." the man said, sitting back down in the chair. I turned my head back forward and relaxed as Tool kept on working on my tattoo. 

"I've got a book over there on top of the fridge. Maybe you'll find something in there." Tool said, dipping the tattoo gun in the little ink cartridge and wiping something away off my back. 

"Maybe another time. " The man said before getting up and strolling towards his bike. 

"Leaving so soon?" Tool said, sitting up right and cleaning off a spot on my upper back. 

"Yeah, only stopped by for a few minutes. I gotta figure out where I'm gonna get money now. I'll see you later, Tool. It was nice meeting you,..." he said, pausing like he forgot my name. 

"Evie." I told him with a slight smile as I turned to look at him like Tool did. 

"Evie. Right. It was nice meeting you." He said, starting his bike up again. I nodded and turned back forward as he backed out of the shop and sped down the street. 

"There is something seriously wrong with the man." Tool mumbled, shaking his head and continuing to work on my tattoo. I didn't bother asking why or what, I just sat there quietly. 

Eventually, time flew by and it was almost 9 o'clock by the time I left. Surprisingly, he got the entire piece done in one day. Must have been since I came here at 7 this morning. 

He wrapped up the piece to protect it while it healed. I paid him and left without saying anything other than thank you and have a good night. 

Once I arrived back at my apartment, I realized I hadn't eaten anything the whole day. I didn't feel all that hungry and my stomach hadn't started to rumble so I settled on a protein shake from the fridge before changing into pajamas and going to bed. 

~End of Chapter 1~


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With a new place to live and a tattoo on her back, she's out for more money. Until she finds herself in a boxed in situation. I mean that quite literally. 
> 
> And when new people give her an opportunity to escape her captors and rescue many more, how will she cope with having worked with other people for the first time in a long time?

3rd Person POV

Evie let her tattoo heal fully before going on any jobs or missions. Instead, she searched for a small house with a garage. He apartment was nice, but her neighbors were horrendous. A house would be so much better than her apartment. 

Eventually, after 3 months of searching, she found one. It was 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom house close to all the shops and businesses she may need. The kitchen was slightly bigger than the one in her apartment, which she desperately needed, and most of the backyard was taken up by the garage at the back. No she had a safe spot to keep her car. She cherished her car more than her life. It was her first investment when she got a job at 17 working at the hotel back home along with the grocery store. 

She managed to move the bookshelf with the guns into the main bedroom, which was her room. Back in her apartment, the bookshelf went around a desk, but in her new home, it sat above her bed. The second bedroom turned into an office once more, but with a twin sized bed in the doubtful scenario when someone visited her or when more likely times she worked too long and was too tired to go back to her room. 

There was no basement, only a cellar to which she made her weapons room or her escape route. Her job as a mercenary was dangerous and she needed an easy escape. The cellar was hidden under her bed. She had an ally back at the CIA Operative building that was one of their tech-y people. She managed to get a door that slid open for easier access under the bed. She made sure that the escape when to the garage so she could retrieve a vehicle for a faster escape. 

Her new house made living much easier, other than her new creepy neighbor to the left of the house and the elderly ladies that live on the right side as neighbors. They were tolerable. They were quiet and often sat outside on the porch to which Evie would sit and talk with them for a while when she had nothing to do. Her other neighbor on the other hand, was totally annoying. His name was Sean. Although he seemed interested in Evie, every week there was a new girl in his house and when ever they did the thing in the bedroom, they did it with the window wide open. And boy, were they loud. Every single girl he had over was like a bird who screeched like they were being murdered. 

Since the master bedroom was on the side of the kitchen closest to the noisy neighbors, she often found herself sleeping in her office which was on the opposite side of the house. It was a weird floor plan, but Evie liked it. 

A few months went by and Evie's car was due for an oil change, but was too lazy to keep it in the shop, so she walked down to the store in search of new oil and all the things she would need to do it. She knew how, she just didn't have the stuff since she never had a garage until now, but ti was only until she found the oil in the store that she had forgotten her wallet on the kitchen counter back home. 

"Goddammit, Evie. How could you do that?" She cursed out loud, causing the person next to her to look over curiously. She glanced at them with a mean look on her face. 

"I left my wallet at home. I had to walk hear. It's not the best day for me. " She explained herself for now reason as to her not wanting people to think she was insane. 

"I understand that feeling. Happened all the time as a teenager for me. "The person told her before walking away. Evie's expression softened. She knew no other way other than to walk back home. Shoving her hands in her pockets, she walked through the automatic doors of the store and turned in the direction for home when a mysterious looking van pulled up beside her, facing the other direction. She thought nothing of it and continued to walk until someone grabbed her arm a spun her around. They went to throw a punch, but Evie ducked and bolted in the direction she came from before she was tackled to the ground by another person. She rolled until she was on top of said person before throwing elbows and making any attempt to get up. 

Adrenaline pumped through her veins as the first person approached with a bag. She fought her way out of the second persons grip before attacking the first guy as he approached. She threw punch after punch and kicked until the second person and a new guy pulled her back, covering her face with the bag. Evie smelt chemicals, probably chloroform or another unconsciousness inducing solution. As the world began the fade, Evie kept fighting, not willing to get kidnapped easily, until everything in sight went black. 

~

Evie woke up, groggily, in the back of something. It was a bit chilly and there were voices around her before she was lifted. But she didn't feel hands. She was in a box. Tied up and throw in a box. Before she knew it, the box was set down, but kept moving. 

Conveyor belt, most likely. 

Everything seemed to be going on an uphill angle, with her feet way to far above her head. When things when back to normal, she was picked up and dragged even further. 

They were probably loading her onto a plane. 

She tried moving once everything seemed less nauseous. She located the thing keeping her hands together. Duct tape. And without a blade, she would have no way of cutting it away. There was nothing covering her mouth though. 

"Best case scenario, I'm being loaded onto an industrial plane and the people loading the box into it have no idea I'm a human being trapped in a box." she thought to herself before yelling. 

"Hello! Someone help me! Please!" she screamed and kicked her feet back, which were also tied together, against the side of the box. Fast paced footsteps approached and she hoped and prayed one last time for the best before the box was opened. She couldn't identify where she was because she was immediately hit in the head with a hard object, knocking her out once more. 

~

When she came to once again, she was no longer in the same box as last time. Expect, in a much larger one, and not tied up, but her mouth was covered. Her hands and feet felt weighted. Upon looking down, she noticed chains linked to the side of the wall, leading up to her limbs. Slight panic filled her thoughts and she attempted to take off what ever was covering her mouth, but the chains didn't allow her hands to go any further than below her breasts. She bent over to feel for anything. 

It was a cloth. She used both her tongue to push the cloth out of her mouth and her hands to pull it away so she could breathe more freely. 

After that was done, the cloth hang around her neck as she looked around. Just as she saw a splinter of light, the box expanded like it was opening. She turned her head away from the light as the top of the box opened and the floor began to move upwards. Scared the chains would get caught and rip her arms off, she began tugging and pulling as hard as she could until the block in the wall came out and came up with her as the floor rose slowly. She looked up to try and adjust her eyes to the sudden light. 

She heard cheering and shouting in a different language that she didn't know. When the floor finished rising, she saw a mixture of poor men in dirty clothes cheering and rich men in suits gazing at her, but instead of happy cheer, it was more like a disapproving shout, like they wanted nothing to do with her. She was not in a cage like they showed in movies in the same scenario. She looked down and saw her clothes were torn in places to make it more revealing until a hand reached up and pulled what was left of her shirt away from her body, exposing her black bra and back tattoo. It was healed now so it was the least of her worries in this disgusting place, where ever she was. 

She stood there, helpless for what seemed like an eternity before the box went back down again. She let out a sigh of relief as she went out of view of the people in that crowd. This must have been that human trafficking job she denied a month ago. Women were kidnapped and brought to somewhere in Brazil. If that was where she was, she wanted nothing more than to go home and curl up in bed. 

Once the box was back down to it's original position, a hand reached in a grabbed a leather strap on the back of the block holding the chains in place and pulled it back into the wall. Evie thought she would be stuck here for longer until the chains on her ankles let go and the block was pulled further into the wall, pulling her forward. 

"No, no, no, no, no, no, No!" She shouted and pulled against it, but it was like a machine was pulling her. To avoid getting decapitated by the wall, she fell to the floor and let the chains drag her through the wall. Once out, she crawled around and started kicking at anyone who tried to touch her until she was whipped in the leg with something electrical because the shock left her gasping for air. Once calm, Evie looked around at the men standing around her until one of them unchained her wrists and pulled her up. 

"You were not chosen. You go to other base." One man told her before she was whipped in the opposite leg once more and dragged down a hallway before being throw into a cell made of concrete with bars in front. A large metal door was closed in front of the bars as she sunk back into a corner. There was one lonely light bulb hanging from wires on the ceiling, casting a dim light over the center of the cell. 

"The crowd didn't like you either, huh?" someone said in the corner across from Evie. Evie turned to where the voice came from and shuddered. The voice had an Irish accent. 

"W-Who are you?" Evie asked, frightened out of her mind. Normally, she would be calm in a situation like this, but the chemical they used the first time to knock her out must have messed with her own hormones and what not to create a mixed and new feeling that Evie wasn't used to. 

"My names Tani. I was taken from my home in Dublin almost two months ago. What's your name?" Evie felt safer with this mystery girl. 

"Evie, Evie Roberts. I'm from New Orleans." Evie answered. The lady came into the light more so she could see her face. She had blood and dirt dried to every bit of flesh. She had a bandage over one eye. 

"What happened to your eye?" Evie asked. 

"A mix between these people wanting us to hurt and them not wanting to lose us. We must be their newest paycheck because I was hit, but they had a doctor patch me up. You make one wrong move or say one wrong thing and your life is changed forever." Tani said. 

"Where are they sending us now?" Evie asked, trying to get enough information to put a plan together. 

"Don't know. All I know is that when they come around and feed us, they might give you a new shirt. " Tani said before silence. 

~~~

Back in New Orleans

~~~

Barney's POV

"Alright, boys. New job came in. Human trafficking in Brazil. Women from all over the world are being kidnapped and taken to this place. They get evaluated by the public and if they don't like 'em, they get sent to a new base. Our job, is to infiltrate the compound they get sent to after the first base. Other teams of violent bastards are being sent to the other compounds. We get in, get the girls, bring to this place over in the mountains and then we leave. Sound good?" I explained, getting nods in response. 

"We leave at midnight, get there at 8 in the morning. Meet back at Tool's in 3 hours for game plan. Dismissed. " And with that, all the guys left the shop and Tool came back down in the elevator. 

"Why'd you sign us up for this job, Tool. I thought you didn't want to be apart of our jobs anymore?" I asked the man. 

"Because, Barney, there's this girl that taken by the same people outside the auto motives store down on 74th Street. I tattooed her a while ago. Real nice gal, hate to see her get hurt like this. Ask Gunner. he stopped by while I was workin'. He might recognize her. " He answered. 

"But why do you want us to bring her back? " I asked, needing every bit of info I could get. 

"Because, I looked her up on the good 'ol inter web and she's a mercenary, just like you guys. She's one of the best. Worked with that Church guy for a while before quitting. She's one of you, Barney. She could be good help for the Expendables."

~~~

Brazil

~~~

Evie's POV

Tani was right. When the men came around with dinner, which consisted of beef stew of some kind and bread, they brought me a new shirt. It was long sleeve with a gap in the back which showed my tattoo. We stayed in the cell for four days before we were all loaded up into a truck and were waiting for a driver. The back of the truck was open, but the flap that was rolled up at the top could easily be untied and cover us. 

"This is your new life now. Better accept it fast." The leader told us before hopping off the truck and walking away. 

"I'm gonna get us out of here. " I mumbled to Tani. She looked at me like I was insane. 

"How? They had guns. What do you have? " She questioned, doubting my skill. 

"I have skills at combat and guns. If I can get a guards gun, I could drive this thing out of the compound and get us all to safety. Find a map maybe and a big city with a working government." I explained. 

"You're truly insane. " Tani said, sitting back against the side of the truck bed. 

"Yeah, I know. That's why I'm a mercenary." I muttered, looking around at all the men running around. They had panic and distress written all over their faces. Higher up leaders of the compound were barking orders. They were running around, looking for things and preparing for something. 

"Did I just hear you right?" Tani asked in disbelief. 

"Whats a mercenary?" A young Chinese girl asked. I put a finger over my mouth in her direction. 

"I get the job done with shit like this when the CIA doesn't wanna get their hands dirty. Which is why I need to you stop saying that word so loud or I'm going to surely be killed. Now listen, all of you. I have a plan. " I said as we all squished against the back of the truck. 

"I'm going to go out, take down a guard and take his gun. I'm then going to get in the truck, hit the back of the cab three times and drive away so once it's in motion, drop that curtain if you can, but if someone sees you, sit back down. I'm trying to save as many if not all of you in a short time period with no preparation. Understand?" I explained and they all nodded. We sat back in our original places as men continued to run around. I saw one guard manning the some box with the controls to open the gate. He had a gun. 

An explosion went off and caught me off guard. The building we were all in previously was no on fire in the west wing. I took this opportunity to jump out of the truck in my torn pants and bare feet and ran to the small box. The guard yelled something at me, but I ducked, grabbed his knife and sliced his throat before taking his gun. I found the button to open the gate and pressed it before taking any and all sets of keys in the cubicle before going back to the truck. Gun shots went off already me, but I made it to the drivers seat safely. I saw the keys were already in the ignition so I threw the keys I grabbed, out the window and started the truck. I hit the back of the cab three times before pushing on the gas. The truck started speeding through the gate as another vehicle approached on the drivers side. I grabbed the gun and pointed it out the window, but didn't shoot when I saw a familiar face. It was the guy from Tool's from a few months ago. He looked at me briefly before I drove away. I had to get these girls to safety first. 

I followed the road up to a sign that I couldn't read. Good thing it had arrows and pictures. I remembered something about the safe zone being in the mountains, but not all the way at the top. I followed the arrow that told me where the mountains would be. I looked on the sides of the road for any sign of the safe zone and anyone ready to attack the truck when a bike came up on my side. 

I got the gun ready and the window down as they came into view. I changed my gaze multiple times from the road to the mirror on my side. The person was wearing all black with what looked like protective gear. They pulled a hand gun out and aimed at the door. They let of a few shots and I stuck my hand out the window, flipping them the bird before going petal to the metal all the way down the road, roughing up the sides of passing vehicles. 

I didn't know this person and they could be from the compound. Or they could be trying to help and thought I was from the compound. Either way, I wasn't about to trust them. With two hands on the wheel, I followed signs and arrows towards the mountains. There seemed to be a small valley with tents just barely visible from the truck. That was probably the safe zone, but with this guy riding my ass, I couldn't take any chances. This was the way I was going. 

I drove a windy road up the hill until more army looking vehicles came into view. I slowed down when people came into view. The guy on the bike was long gone for he had veered off a while ago. 

I came to a stop when a dude, that looked to be in charge, stopped in front of the truck. Soldiers had their guns out, ready to shoot as the man approached my window. 

"Speak." He ordered. 

"My name is Evie Roberts. I'm from New Orleans and just escaped the human trafficking compound about 40 miles down the hill. I'm a mercenary that used to work for CIA Operatives. I have a bunch of girls in the back waiting to get to the safe zone. " I explained as calmly as possible. The man said something to the men in front of the truck. I waited patiently as they went around too the back. They called back something and the man looked at me sternly. 

"That way. About half hour long drive. Tell them what you told me and they'll get you help." I nodded in thanks and the soldiers cleared the way as I drove slowly down the road. I hit the back of the cab once to see if they were still alive back there. Once I received a knock back, I smiled, knowing I had completed my mission, but the guy on the bike still worried me. 

Was he a mercenary trying to help?

Or was he from the compound?

The fact that he shot at me didn't help either. I threw the gun in the seat beside me and tried to relax. The road was very winding with a lot of sharp turns until we reached semi-flat ground. I drove slow. My petal-to-the-metal driving probably hurt the girls in the back, but they'd be safe now that I did it. The trees around us offered some shade from the punishing sun above us. It must have been around 3 in the afternoon, probably closer to 4 by the time we reached the safe zone. The sign in front of the wooden gate that said safe zone assured that I was in the right place. I took one last glance in the mirrors to see four or so more trucks behind me. I stopped at the gate and they stopped behind me. 

How they caught up down this road was beyond me, but I was granted access into the safe zone after I repeated what I said to the new guy and they told me where to park the truck. I followed instructions and got out. Walking around to the back, I noticed the blonde guy was driving one of the trucks. I ignored it and opened the tail gate and helped the girls out. They said nothing, but stayed close to me. Tani gave me a look of 'you almost killed us with your driving but I'm glad you did because now we're safe' before comforting another girl. Five guys hopped out of the trucks that parked away from us and did the same with the girls in the back. I stood in front of the group of girls from my truck almost protectively when one of the guys approached us. 

He had dark hair to match his dark facial hair. He wore a protective vest similar to mine at home along with the bald guy the followed him. He stopped about two feet in front of me and I fixed my posture to show no fear. 

"Are you Evie Roberts?" The man asked, sticking his thumbs through the space between his pants and his utility belt. 

"I might be. Who are you?" I asked sassily, crossing my arms over my chest and looking him in the eye. The bald guy behind him whispered something to the guy in front which caused a slight smile to form in the corner of his mouth. 

"What? We telling jokes now?" I questioned as the other three approached us. I felt one of the girls behind me grab my shirt in fear. Probably been in the compound for longer than the rest and probably doesn't want to trust any guys right now. 

"We know a guy that said a girl he knew was kidnapped a little while ago. You must not be it because his description did not match what we're seeing now. Let's go, Barney. " The bald one said with an accent as the final three approached and he turned to leave.

"And why's that? You think that after being trapped inside a building, in a different country, surrounded by men who look at you as objects means I'm just going to go and give you 100% of my trust? You must be bat shit crazy!" I exclaimed, firing back at him. A couple of the girls behind me gasped and the three new guys just chuckled to themselves. Baldy turned back around with disbelief written all over his face. 

"'Listen, lady. You don't know who you're talking to!" He said before I lunged and tackled him to the ground, rolling around and pinning him in an arm lock. 

"No, you don't know who you're talking to, pal." I said with a threatening tone. The other three that were chuckling before were full out laughing now, but the first guy was shaking his head either at me or at baldy who I had pinned to the ground. Some of the girls clapped lightly and it went unnoticed by the other four guys standing in front of them. 

"Christmas, my friend, you have got to keep your mouth shut sometimes." The main guy stated. 

"Yeah, yeah, what ever. Just tell her to let go of me, will ya!" baldy shouted from underneath me. I pulled at his arm just a little bit before letting go. I stood up and dusted my clothes off before taking my place in front of the group of girls. I turned to speak to the main guy when Blondie spoke up. 

"Hey, I recognize you! You were a Tool's shop a while back. You were getting that big bird tattoo." he said before turning to his friends. "Hey, guys. I remember her." I stared at him for a second before taking my turn to shake my head in disbelief as a lady soldier came up to us. 

"Sargent Collins requests that all the women rescued from the compound come to the tent over there. And that includes you." She said, pointing at me as baldy stood up. The main guy, who I'm going to assume was the leader, motioned for them to step out of the way as I walked away with the group of girls. On our way, Tani walked beside me. 

"You really do have a death wish, don't you?" she asked, probably talking about my awesome take down. 

"Nope. Just crazy." I mentioned as we continued walking towards the biggest tent. Inside were tables lined with papers and chairs at those tables. A older looking man approached us and some of the girls stepped back, probably in fear again. One girl huddled up to my side and I wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders. You can't get mad at them for being scared. It's going to take a long time before they can fully trust people again. 

"My name is Sargent Don Collins. I run this operation. These tables here have a list of names of people taken and transported here over the last two years. You will all line up and when a spot is open, the next person in line will go. We're doing a head count of all the people missing and who we fly back to your homes. After today, you will be transported to a hotel in the city near by via transit bus. We understand that you may not be able to trust men at the moment so we have rounded up enough women to make sure you are safe and you get home to your families." he said before stepping back. The lady soldier that led us here grabbed the first 10 or so girls and led them to chairs. Don Collins stepped towards me. 

"May I speak to you outside, please." I nodded and he led me outside where we stood by a tree, isolated from anyone else in the safe zone. 

"I received word that you were a trained mercenary, once working for the CIA, is that correct?" I nodded. 

"Well, then. I would like to thank you, on behalf of those girls and the men we sent into that compound to retrieve those girls. You made sure you got them out safe and sound with minimal casualties. I've never seen that before. And I must say, that take down over there was quite impressive. " He told me, motioning to the front of the truck I previously drove here and where I tackled baldy a few minutes ago. 

"Thank you, sir, but that's nothing compared to what I did for the CIA. " I told him in the most respectful manner I could muster. 

"Anyway, since you got them out, I want you to stay with them at the hotel. Preferably so that no one leaves the hotel without supervision. We can't take any more casualties from these people. They've take too many women from families and they've taken enough lives to get them all life sentences in prison. And until we can get them safely to the airport, I want you to look after them. What ever they need, you report to one of our soldiers downstairs in an office room and they will make sure those requests are filled. We have soldiers in every stairwell and at every possible entrance and exit so you won't have to worry about runaways. Your group of girls will all be on the same floor, guarded by Lieutenant Sparrows, the lady who brought you all to the tent. " I nodded once more. 

"Understood." I said. Great. Another job. 

"Good. I'll let you go back inside then. Bus won't be here until tomorrow so you all will stay in a housing tent for the night. Cots for everyone. Food too." He said as we walked back to the tent. Tani had gone through the process already and was taking girls to the housing tent already while Lieutenant Sparrows took care of them. I was the last one to go through the tables. It was a slow process.

"Name?"

"Evie Roberts."

"Age?"

"24"

"Where you from?"

"New Orleans."

"How long were you in the compound?"

"Four days, probably."

"How long have you been away from home?"

"Just less than a week probably."

"That's all. You may leave."

Once that was over, I found my way to the housing tent. They saved a cot by the front of the tent for me, since I was the best source of protection from anyone in case of invasion. I sat down on the cot and sighed. The compound, the five guys mysteriously knowing where I was, babysitting these girls in a hotel, everything was just too much. I ended up laying down on the cot, adjusting the pillow before shutting my eyes. My appetite was gone. There was no eating for me until morning. 

"U-um...excuse me?" I opened my eyes t see a little blonde girl, no older than 17 probably, standing over me. I sat up and looked at her. 

"Yes?" I said, tiredly. 

"U-Um....I just w-want to t-thank you....f-for getting us out a-and all. We're a-all lucky y-you were there. Some of us...some of us have been t-there for over a y-year..so uh...thank you." She stuttered and stumbled on her words like she didn't know what to say. 

"It's no problem, really. I do that kind of stuff on a daily basis. And to be honest, I was almost as scared as the rest of you." I said with a reassuring smile. She struggled to return the smile, which meant she was obviously still nervous. 

"Nothing else is going to happen to you girls. I promise. We'll get to the hotel, we'll get washed up and clean, we'll get fed and then we'll all be on our ways home, ok? " She nodded in response. 

"Now, go get some rest and some food. I'll be here all night." I told her. She nodded once more before walking back to her cot. I laid back down and shut my eyes once more. Being a badass definitely takes the energy right out of you and within minutes, I was in a deep sleep. 

~End of Chapter 2~


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now in a safe place with protection all around, Evie is still skeptical about everything. Can she trust these new people who showed up for the job she denied? Will she be able to let them go?

Evie's POV

I was woken up by the sound of a scream and crying. I sat up almost immediately and looked around. Tani had a lamp beside her and a crying girl. Tani was trying her best to comfort her. 

"Poor girl has been at that compound for two years. God knows what they did to her. No wonder she's having nightmares." One of the girls around me mumbled as some of them tried to go back to sleep. My so sudden adrenaline rush was useless and was not going down any time soon, so even without shoes, I left the tent to get some fresh air. Others peered out of other tents in the treed in area, but went back inside when I glared at them. I walked away from the tents where it was quiet and listened. Among the slight wind swaying the trees gently, I could hear the faint sound of rushing water, meaning there was a river nearby. I walked forward for a while, then stopped and listened once more. I did this until I found the source of water. I knelt down and dipped my hands in the icy cold water before splashing it up to my face. 

It wasn't a hug river, more like a stream, but the water was clean and fresh from the mountain above us. Mountains were like natural filters. The water was clean enough to clean my face with, but I didn't trust drinking it. I rolled up my sleeves and splashed some water and rubbed some of the dirt off. Same with the bottoms of my legs. It wasn't much, but it was something and I felt mildly more refreshing. 

"Can't sleep?" A deep voice asked from behind me. I spun around and held my hands up, ready to throw fists in case of a threat. 

"Easy, there. I mean no trouble. Our conversation was cut off a little quick earlier. " It was then I recognized the voice. It was the leader guy from the group of tattooed, protective gear wearing goons. 

"Yeah...and?" I questioned, putting my fists down as the man stepped out from behind a tree. My eyes had adjusted to the dark and there was a torch or a lamp hung on a tree about 2 meters or so away. 

"A friend of ours said you came to his shop a few months back, and then got kidnapped. He signed us up for this job hoping we could bring you back. He said something about you being a mercenary like us. " The man explained. 

"Is that all he said? That I was a mercenary?" I questioned, crossing my arms over my chest. 

"He said that you were one of the best, like us, and that you could possibly be some help with our team." He added calmly, like he had confronted an angry crazy lady like me before and was used to my attitude. Or like he had four teenage daughters back home and was used to sass and attitude. Either one was a good guess. 

"Wait...who are we talking about?" I asked, confused.

"his name is Tool. He owns a tattoo parlor. He gave you a tattoo on your back. A bird or something." The man stated. 

"Oooohhhh.....Tool. I remember him. Yeah, Blondie was there too, he stopped by while I was getting it done. " I stated, feeling a little bit tired. 

"Yeah, he's on the team now. Had him kicked off for a while to get clean. He's good now. His names Gunner. The one you tackled like a bad ass was Lee Christmas." So that's his name...maybe I'll bother him about it for a while if I see him again. 

"And who are you?" 

"Barney Ross, I'm the leader of The Expendables. The other two are Hale Caesar and Toll Road. You'll know which one is which when you meet them formally." He told me. 

"Alright, well, it was nice to meet you Barney, but I gotta go back to protecting my tent and sleeping. Maybe I'll see you around. " I said as I started to walk off. "And tell Old Saint Nick I said hello." I continued before I was out of ear shot. 

I made my way back to the tent. Everyone was asleep and safe, so I went back to sleep myself. 

~

The next morning went back quick. Lieutenant Sparrows brought breakfast and we all ate in silence. before we knew it, the bus was waiting at the bottom of the hill for us and I was back to driving the truck load of girls down the hill away from the safe zone. From there, the truck was towed by the local government and I led the girls onto the bus. Barney and his group of friends were already at the bottom of the hill in vehicles they probably brought. Everyone except Lee waved at me. he sat sulking in the passenger seat, probably still mad at me. I waved back as the last girl got on the bus and I followed her. The only seat left was one at the front behind the driver and beside the young blonde girl I spoke to last night. She basically hugged the wall the whole time and as two hours went by, we still had an hour and a half to go until we reached the hotel. The city was in the opposite direction of the compound that was still burning. Police and SWAT were investigating and searching for god knows what. A prison bus sat at the entrance, filled with the men of the compound. 

I felt nothing but hate for those men, even if half of them were dead. They still did what they did and there's no excuse for that. On the rest of the way to the hotel, everything that happened to me slowly came back to me. Being transported in a box, flown over the ocean in a box in a plane, waking up chained to a wall and then getting dragged out of said box by the said chains and then getting locked up for four days. To a normal person, it would sound horrible, a disgrace from hell, but to me, it was just another experience under my belt. I've been through worse, but to these girls, it was something they could never forget and would haunt them forever. 

~

Once we reached the hotel, some room service ladies met us at the front door along with receptionists. They grouped the girls into groups of two before giving them a room key and someone escorting them upstairs to their room. After everyone went, the only two left were me and Tani. We were escorted by Lieutenant Sparrows who came with us to the hotel, but she left us one we were in our room. It was a nice hotel. A list of instructions was left on the table under the TV. Basically saying we weren't allowed to leave for our protection and that if we needed anything, we could call the front desk. No one else was in the hotel but us and every floor had a different group of girls, spread out among 6 floors. The group I brought in was on the 4th floor. Our room was dead center in the hallway. Even rooms on either side in case I needed to kick some ass. 

I let Tani shower and get clean first since I had a mild sponge bath by the creek last night, minus the sponge. I sat in a chair and went over the TV guide, looking for a list of shows or movies in English. I settled on the channel Showcase that was playing a series of environmental type movies, like The Day After Tomorrow or what ever it's called. It has Jake Gyllenhaal so what ever. 

While Tani was in the shower, a maid brought two bags to our room. Filled with clothes and snacks for the two of us. I set them on the beds and when Tani was done her shower, she came out in a towel and went through her bag. She grabbed her pair of clothes and went back into the bathroom to get dressed and came back out with the towel wrapped around her hair. I grabbed my new clothes and went in to take a shower which lasted over 30 minutes due to my hair being a tangled mess, but I got it. When I got out, I dried off and got dressed in my new underwear, which was black so that's good, and black baggy sweatpants and a tank top. I had gotten a hoodie in the bag, but I left it out there. I dried my hair with the hair dryer attached to the wall before hanging my towel on the edge of the door and walking to my new bed and belly flopping onto the soft mattress. I moaned in delight at the feeling and forgot I was in a hotel. At least it wasn't that cot from last night. 

"How did they get all this stuff in time for us to be rescued?" Tani asked, going through her stuff. 

"It can sometimes take a long time before they can actually preform or stage a rescue mission, especially when the victims are in a large quantity and or surrounded by a larger quantity of people with advanced or normal weaponry." I answered, my voice muffled by the blanket. I sat up and went through my bag as well. It had necessary things like a hair brush, hair ties, bobby pins, toothbrush and toothpaste and lady toiletries, but it also had little snacks like granola bars, little bags of Oreo cookies, even a couple bottles of Pepsi. It also had a list of people in the hotel you can go to for help if you're in distress or need a therapist to talk to. 

"So they found a way to get us out, planned it, changed it and finalized it all while getting people together to help us once we got out?" Tani asked, tossing her snacks back in the bag and keeping her bathroom stuff on the bedside tables between our beds. 

"Yup. It's what the government does. They split and those who can make the plan, make the plan and those who will execute the plan will most likely start off helping with plans of care and getting all this stuff together before they go and rescue the targets." I said, cracking open my one bottle of Pepsi. 

"Oh yeah, I forgot, your a mercenary. You probably know everything about this." I nodded in response, although she probably wasn't looking at me. I took a sip of my drink before closing the lid again and setting on the table. The movie was still playing, but was half way done so I brushed my hair out and braided it into pigtail braids. The entire time, my mind was wandering to Barney and the crew of misfits. I wondered if they were staying at a different hotel than us, which they probably were, or if they flew back to America. 

Once I was done braiding my hair, a knock at the door got both of us off the beds. I quietly walked to the door and peered through the peep hole and saw another maid. I opened the door and she handed me two more bags which were much heavier this time before leaving. 

I handed one to Tani and we went and sat on our beds again and when through them. Inside were two pairs of pajamas rolled up with more underwear and another bra. The one pair of pajamas was a tank top and a pair of shorts and the other were a pair of leggings and a t-shirt, maybe for variety or extra clothing. Aside from the clothes, there was a slightly warm, Styrofoam box. I opened it to find a couple brownies and fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. I took one of the cookies and ate it before putting the box down and closing it. Inside was four bottles of water and 2 Gatorades along with more snacks. 

"Wow...they are really nice." Tani mumbled, organizing her stuff around her bed. her clothes went in one bag and all her food went in the other and they both sat on the floor close to her bed closest to the wall. I did the same thing before looking at the list of instructions again. It didn't say anything about going down to the receptionist desk and asking for a phone call, so I double checked with Tani to make sure she was going to stay in the room before taking the room key and leaving. Outside the door was two pairs of slip on flats. I took the black pair and slid them on before walking over to the stairs where a soldier guarding the stairs escorted me to my destination before going back to post. 

"Hi, how can I help you?" One of the receptionists asked cheerfully. 

"I was wonder if there was a computer and maybe a phone I could use for a few minutes?" I asked. She typed a few things into her computer in front of her before answering. 

"We actually have rooms set up for you girls to talk to your families tomorrow and tell them your okay, but their not open right now." She explained. 

"Oh, I'm not using it to contact my family. I'm actually an ex-CIA Operative and I have contacts and I was just going to check with someone in charge to make sure this operation is dealt with and everyone captured is safe." I semi-lied. 

"Oh yes. Follow me, ma'am. " She said, standing up and walking down the hallway of the first floor. Some rooms had signs saying they were occupied and others had signs saying they were used for communication. We stopped in front of one that had the communication signs and she opened the door for me before leaving. I shut and locked the door before going onto the computer first. I didn't think anyone at the CIA or army bases here would have access to Barney's contacts, so I researched Tool's tattoo shop for a phone number. To my surprise, there was one so I picked up the phone and dialed until someone answered, but it was a female.

~-~-

"Hello?"

"Hi, I'm looking for Tool. Is he available?"

"He is, he's just downstairs. Please hold."

~-~-

I held the phone to my ear and waited. I looked out the window at the palm trees and exotic birds until someone picked up the line.

~-~-

"Tool here."

"Hey, Tool. It's me, Evie Roberts. I got a tattoo from you a while back. "

"Oh! Evie! Last I heard about you was Barney was going to rescue you and a shit ton of girls from a human trafficking company. Didn't think you'd call me first."

"Yeah, about Barney. Do you have any way to contact him right now? A cell phone? A radio? Something?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. I got his and Lee's cell phone numbers right here in front of me. Got a pen?"

"And paper. Go ahead."

~-~-

As Tool recited the numbers to me, I wrote them down on a notepad that was sitting beside me. 

~-~-

"Is that all?"

"Yeah, that's all. Thanks a lot, Tool."

"No problem, chicka. It was good hearing from you. You should stop by the shop sometime when you get back. Tell me how your introduction to The Expendables went."

"You got it. Thanks again, Tool."

"No problem, Darlin'. See yous later."

~-~-

I hung up the phone with Tool before dialing Barney's number. I waited through the rings, but no one picked up. I didn't want to, but I thought Lee's might be a good shot and finding them so i dialed his number next only for him to answer. 

~-~-

"This is Christmas."

"And this is Evie Roberts. We met briefly, yet violently at the safe zone. I need to talk to Barney. Is he there?"

~-~-

He hung up as soon as I finished my statement. Rude. I dialed again, hoping he wouldn't hang up.

~-~-

"This is Barney."

"Hey, Barney. It's Evie. I got your number from Tool. I managed to get a hold of him a while ago."

"How's the fancy hotel?"

"Fancy."

"I bet. We're flying back to New Orleans tomorrow morning. You think they'll let you go? Beats staying here for a month before they can get you out."

"Maybe. But I gotta ask you something first."

"Go for it."

"I was offered to take this job a while ago, but refused for personal reasons. Do you think you can tell me if everyone got out alive? The girls, I mean."

"Only two casualties. Got caught in the crossfire. And that's only for this base. It's unheard of from others. Should have answers in a couple days."

"Alright. Stop by the hotel tomorrow before you leave and maybe I'll catch a ride with you guys. I really don't feel like staying here any longer than I have to. "

"Will do, kid. I'll let the guys know. I even said hi to Christmas for you last night. He ignored me."

"He probably hates me. I bet flying back with you guys would just make his day, eh?"

"For he'll try to throw you out of the plane mid flight. I gotta go. We'll be at the hotel around 6 ish to get you. "

"Alright, thanks Barney."

"No problem."

~-~-

After I hung up with Barney, I thought about what else I could do before going back to the room. I thought of Darcy. She wrote to me just before I quit from the CIA, telling me about her life and attached her cell number to the email. I memorized it instantly and even called her once or twice since then. I decided to bend the rules a bit and dialed her number as well and waited for the ring. 

~-~-

"Hello?"

"Hey, Darcy. It's Evie."

"Evie?! Oh my god! People have been telling me you were kidnapped, I missed a day of college trying to get a hold of anyone who could answer me. Are you ok? is this one of those moments where you call me and I have to alert everyone of your position?"

"No, it's not unfortunately. I'm safe at a hotel in Brazil. I was trying to get out of here early and decided to call you. "

"Oh my god, I'm so glad you called. I've been so worried. Oh, and mom and dad say hi."

"Tell them I said hello for me. Look, I gotta go before anyone finds out I'm breaking the rules. I only wanted to tell you I was alright so you didn't murder anyone for answers."

"Ok, but call me when you get back home. I have so much to tell you!"

"Ok, Darcy. I will. I don't know how long it will be before I do, but I will. I'll talk to you later, ok?"

"Ok, Bye."

~-~-

I hung up the phone and cleared the search history on the computer before exiting the room. I was escorted back up to my room again and snacked on the light dinner someone brought up before brushing my teeth and going to bed. 

~Next Morning~

I woke up earlier than usual. It was 4 a.m when I woke up. Barney and the guys would be here in two hours. I decided to get dressed for the day and get ready. I quietly got my stuff together and tip toed to the bathroom without waking Tani. I changed from my shorts and tank top into the clothes I wore yesterday and pulled a hoodie over it. I brushed out my braids and threw my hair into a tight bun at the base of my skull. I brushed my teeth, but without any toothpaste so I could still eat. I gathered my things and left the bathroom to see Tani sitting up, half asleep. 

"What are you doing?" She asked. 

"Getting ready. I got CIA buddies that are going to take me home early to go over what happened to our boss. They'll be here in about two hours which means you'll get my stuff while your here." I told her. She nodded and laid back down and dozed off again. I laid in best, curled onto my side, but remained awake. I tried not to think about all the lies I've told people in the last 24 hours, but I did what I had to do. It's part of my life. 

By the time 6 o'clock rolled around, I had slipped on the same pair of flats had yesterday. It worked because the bottom of my pant legs were cinched at the end and not flowing around like I hate. 

A soldier was just about to knock on the door, but I opened it before he could wake Tani.

"Miss. Roberts, someone is here in the lobby for you." He told me quietly, due to the entire hallway being asleep and dead quiet.

"I know. Let's go." I whispered, shutting the door behind me and following him down the stairs. In the lobby, Barney and the guy who I'm going to assume was Toll Road, stood by the front desk. Barney noticed me and walked over to greet me. 

"Good to see you again. Evie, this is Hale Caesar. Hale, this is Evie, the one that took down Lee." I was wrong. Toll Road must have been the guy with the puffy ears. This guy was as tall and as tough looking as Gunner. 

"Hey, man, that was great. That's been the first time we've seen Lee surrender to anybody in a long time." Hale told me. 

"Well, no offense, but he was being kind of a douche bag." I said, trying not to sound like an equally as bad douche bag. 

"None taken. Come on, you have to sign some papers or something and then we'll leave." Barney said. I went up to the front desk and the lady told me where to sign. I did so and left with Barney and Hale. A truck similar to the one I drove was parked out front. Lee sat miserable in the passenger seat and the other two must be in the back. Barney got in the drivers seat and Hale and I sat in the back end where Gunner and Toll were sitting. Well....Gunner was asleep and snoring really loud while Toll was sitting there trying to ignore him with a book. Their bags were scattered everywhere in the back and Gunner was using one as a pillow. 

"Lee's still miserable you kicked his ass." Toll told me, keeping his eyes on his book. 

"So I've heard." I said, sitting on the bench next to Toll. 

It was the beginning of another long drive to get to where the plane was parked. 

~End of Chapter 3~


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Evie decided to put a little trust into her new 'friends', she finds a decent ride home to New Orleans. All is calm...for now.

**Evie's POV**

Upon arriving at the plane, I realized that it was parked in an abandoned air port. I looked at the guys in confusion as they gathered their things and threw them into the plane. Lee was still miserable and clearly wasn't happy with me being here. And then I noticed Gunner was still in the truck, sleeping. 

"Does he usually sleep like this?" I asked Hale as he cam back to the truck. 

"Wait...he's still sleeping?" Hale questioned in astonishment. We stood at the back of the truck, watching in disbelief. 

"You think he'll wake up if we shake him?" I asked, looking up at Hale. 

"Tried that before. He tried shooting at us." He told me. It seemed like he was just a rock laying there, snoring like crazy. 

"You got a gun?" I asked him, getting a partial idea. 

"You're not going to actually shoot him, are you?" Hale asked, handing me a pistol. I stepped up into the bed of the truck and aimed just around Gunner's head and let off a few rounds which caused him to jump up and reach for anything he could use as a weapon, which happened to be his knife. I tossed the gun back at Caesar before hopping down from the truck. 

"Well that's one way to get him up." he mumbled as Barney approached. 

"What the hell's going on here?" he questioned, smoking a cigar. 

"She shot at me!"

"In her defense, you wouldn't wake up. We were about to leave you here." Caesar defended. Barney just laughed and started walking away. 

"Wheels up in 10!"

**~~Time Skip~~**

It was a mainly quiet flight home. Toll kept reading, Lee and Barney were in the cockpit, Caesar was cleaning one of his guns and Gunner was sharpening his knife. I didn't have anything to do, so I resorted to laying across the bench with my eyes shut, but not sleeping. I guess there was no sleeping with the constant sound a sharpening rock gliding across solid metal. It was a mix of slightly irritating and slightly soothing, but I think that's just me. 

The radio was also playing classic rock through the plane which helped me drown out the sound of Gunner sharpening his knife. No one spoke and I had nothing to do so I played a game with myself to try and identify noises in the plane. Anything from Toll flipping the pages in his book to Caesar  taking apart a gun and reloading it. Eventually, I heard Toll close his book and set it on the bench. I've always had a good sense of hearing which helps a lot when I'm stranded somewhere. I open my eyes and move my arm a little bit to see Toll putting his book away. 

"Finish the book?" I ask, sitting up. 

"Yeah," he said sadly. I smiled, knowing very well, the feeling of finishing a good book. I sat up and turned to put my foot on the bench, my back turned to Gunner, as I tied up the laces on the boots Barney had given me. They were a bit too big for my feet, but it was better than those flats I had from the hotel. 

I heard Gunner clear his throat behind me, probably to get my attention. I put my foot down and turned to face him. he had put his knife away along with the sharpening rock. 

"How the tattoo turn out?" he asked bluntly, probably didn't know how to strike up a conversation. 

"Good. Got it done in one day too. I didn't get home until, like, 9, but got it done." I answered with a slight smile. The look on his face showed he was trying to find the right words to say next. 

"Uh, can I see it?" He asked, awkwardly. For a big tough guy, he sure seemed nervous. I chuckled and shook my head before turning my back to him once more and lifting my shirt, exposing my back. 

"Damn, that did turn out nice. Tool does a good job with tattoos. " He stated as I let my shirt fall back down and sat back in my normal spot. I noticed Lee gaze back at us with a foul glare most likely directed towards me. Once I turned to look at him, he ducked back into the cockpit. I shook my head once more before Barney spoke. 

"Making a pit stop. Prepare for landing!" We all sat in the designated seat belt seats or what ever they're called and strapped in as the plane went through turbulence. 

~

As soon as the plane stopped, I sensed something wrong. Everyone else unbuckled from their seats, but all grabbed a weapon of some sort. I looked out the small window and saw a bunch of guys with guns standing ready for a fight. 

"Uh...who are they?" I asked, pointing at the men outside, but looking at the three guys around me. 

"The survivors of a drug cartel we took  down a couple years ago. Here." Lee answered, tossing me a gun and a couple of mags. I had no where to put the mags, so I took the hoodie i got from the hotel and shredded it with Gunner's knife, to which he had no idea I pick pocketed from him until he heard me shredding the clothing. 

I tore pieces of clothing and wrapped a couple around the mags and then tied a longer piece around my waist like a belt. I used smaller pieces  of cloth to attach the mags to  my homemade belt. Once done, I handed the knife back to Gunner and stood ready with the rest of them. Barney had watched out one of the cockpit windows and watched for any sign of them charging at us. I heard, faintly, one of them shouting at  us to get out of the plane. I looked around at the guys and they weren't moving a muscle. Toll had his eyes on the window I had just looked out of before I massacred my hoodie. I watched Toll duck before shots went off and took out the window. There was no flying with a broken window. 

"One of you blow 'em up." Barney order and Gunner smiled deviously. In an instant, he had grabbed a grenade launcher of some sort and shot it out the window. I heard it explode and painful cries before more gun fire directed at us. 

"Another!" Barney called over the sound of multiple bullets hitting the plane. I noticed one go through the wall and land in the bench behind me, the bullet going between my legs. I ducked and moved out of the way, towards the door of the plane, which was facing away from the men shooting at us. I opened it, only to see a tank. 

"Uh, guys, they got a tank!" I shouted to the guys, who were firing off rounds of their own. They all looked at me, questioning whether or not what I said was true until I pointed to the direction of the tank and a shot exploded right beside the plane, rolling it over a couple times, definitely breaking the wings. We rolled around with the plane, being thrown against metal by brute force of the explosion. 

I opened my eyes and some dust cleared and saw men approached the plane, that was now upside down. I looked around for the gun Lee had given me. I saw it a few feet away, outside the plane by a hole that was blown through the metal. I also saw men approaching from that side. I ignored the guys behind me and lunged for the gun, shooting at anyone who even aimed at me. Their bodies falling limp over top of me. I struggled to push that much weight off of me until Gunner came to the rescue and pulled me up before shooting at more people. It became a chaos and frenzy version of a Mexican standoff. I followed close behind Gunner shooting under his arm at the enemies. I only had one thing on my mind, like I always do in this sort of situation: kill. 

When I saw more men approaching from the sides, I turned and shot them until I ran out of bullets. I dropped the gun I had and grabbed a different one off a dead guy's body and continued shooting. I had no idea where Gunner was walking to, but I mindlessly followed, half using him as a shield and the other half just stop people from shooting him from any direction; except that second half failed when someone in front of us shot at us and grazed his arm. He let out a line of curses and shot the guy in the chest about 20 times, not stopping. 

 _"This guy really is crazy."_  I thought to myself astonishingly. I still had the cloth around my waist, so I pulled him behind a truck and wrapped his arm up to keep it from bleeding too much and we continued shooting without any words. I had no idea where the others had gone, but there was still a lot of enemies to fend off. I was reloading the gun I stole with another clip I had also stolen before Gunner wrapped an arm around my waist and picked me up and ran like I was nothing but a feather. An explosion went off behind us and the force flung us about 30 feet forward and behind a crate of cargo boxes with military labels on them. I stood up, but stayed hidden behind the boxes. I used the butt end of the gun to break open a box to find grenades. I looked up over the boxes to see a group of men approaching. I picked up a grenade, pulled the pin and watched her fly before taking out the men in a fiery blaze of smoke and shrapnel. 

I checked some other boxes, looking for ammo or a gun of some sort, probably stealing from what ever government's country we were in. Gunner followed suit and before we knew it, we were back to shooting at the enemies until they either ran away crying or died by our hands. 

The two of us were still behind the crate of boxes. I looked around, searching for the guys. I immediately spotted Caesar coming out from behind the plane that was broken beyond repair. Shit. 

When Gunner and I stepped out from behind the crates, Caesar aimed at us, but eased off when he realized who we were. The three of us searched until we found the other three and we all met up half in between where we were and where they were. 

"Well, that didn't go exactly as planned." Lee stated, putting his knives away on his utility belt or in his boots. 

"What was suppose to happen? We all have a tea party?" I questioned, dropping the gun I stole from the crate, which earned me a evil glare once again from Lee. I have been told once or twice or maybe many times that my attitude would get me killed, and now I am thoroughly convinced it will be at the hands of Lee. 

"It was suppose to be peaceful. No violence. They broke their promise so we killed them." Barney explained. 

"Yeah, well, aside from our little massacre here, I think we outta find a new plane 'cause I'm not taking a bus home." Toll stated, throwing down his gun, which he probably took off a dead guy like I did. 

"Agreed." Caesar mumbled. 

**~Time Skip~**

We ended up stealing a helicopter from the small airport that seemed more like a couple buildings and an airstrip, but what ever. 

I helped salvage what ever we could from the broken plane while Barney and Lee got the chopper ready. We waited for them to fill the vehicle with fuel and in the mean time, I searched for a first aid kit to try and better fix Gunner's arm. All I really needed was a couple  of bandages, a sewing needle or some of those needle-less stitches that looked more like small band aids to me.   

I eventually found one and instead of rummaging through it looking for what I needed, I took the whole thing with me. Worst case scenario, it didn't have anything i needed and it was all finger band aids. he guys were still waiting for the thing to finish fueling and Gunner was already picking at the cloth I had tied around his arm. He was sitting on a crate by the wall with a scowl on his face. As I approached him, he ignored me existence for the most part until I started digging through the kit. 

"What are you doing?" He asked, his voice made it seem like he was angrier than all hell right now. 

"I'm fixing your arm if I can find what I need." I stated, throwing all the useless stuff away behind me, hitting Barney with a tenser bandage roll in the process. I found a small suture kit and without even asking, Barney had brought over a couple of those mini bottles of vodka. It was clear he was a mind reader of some sort, I was sure of it!

"You are not touching me with that needle." Gunner stated, looking me dead in the eye. I picked up the needle and did the same before lightly tapping him on the leg with the suture needle. 

"I just did." Again, another evil glare. At least it wasn't from Lee. I've had enough of those from him to last me a long time. 

I peeled the bloody cloth away from his arm before using a gauze from the first aid kit to lean the area of the dirt ridden blood that had dried to his arm. 

"I hate stitches." I heard him mumble as I threaded the needle. 

"Everyone does, Gunner, everyone does." I told him, my voice getting quieter as I started stitching his arm. It only took about 10 minutes to finish stitching the wound and not even a minute to hold the gauze in place and wrap a bandage around his arm and tape it down. The bleeding had stopped for a while, mostly because the wound had formed a minor scab over the bullet graze or it got clotted. I wasn't a doctor so I wasn't sure which one it was, but they were equally good guesses. Barney had called us all over to the  chopper, saying we were leaving. Gunner jumped down from the crate, thanking me quietly before walking away. I packed up the suture kit and threw it back in the first aid kit before zipping it closed and taking it with me. I tossed it under a seat like the guys did with their smaller personal backpacks and shut the door behind me as I climbed in. 

"Why you keeping a first aid kit?" Caesar asked, clearly and utterly confused.

"Because, if I can get one for free, it means I don't have to buy one." I answered, smiling as I buckled into my seat. Caesar just nodded and looked out the window. 

It was a rough take off since we had to first get out of the shop in order to get into the air, but Barney managed with the occasional W _atch It!_  and  _Dude Be Careful!_  from Lee. After telling him to shut up a few times, he got the chopper out of the shop and into the air. I didn't bother asking where we were since I was too tired to. I was just glad I was going home finally. And Barney was right, it was a lot better going with them than staying at the hotel. 

Homeward Bound. 

**~End of Chapter 4~**

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Home at last! What will Evie choose to do with all her free time?

Evie's POV

Barney landed the helicopter in a field somewhere near New Orleans. They had a couple cars sitting there waiting for them, parked and hidden in the bushes. I helped them load the bags and what ever we salvaged into the vehicles. I took my first aid kit and stood awkwardly by a tree as Barney approached. 

"You need a ride home?" He asked, lighting another cigar. 

"Yeah, if you can. If not, I'll walk to the nearest building and call a cab." I told him. 

"No, no. I couldn't leave you here. We'll kick some of the shit into the other car with Lee and Toll." Barney said, motioning to the cars. "We're going to a warehouse to drop all our shit off, we can drive you home first." 

"Ok. Sounds good. But I owe you one." I told him as we walked to the cars.

"A case of beer and we'll call it even." He said smiling. I smiled back before helping load the stuff into the other car and got in the backseat next to Caesar, putting my new first aid kit at my feet. I stared out the window for the most part, listening to the radio in the background. 

Once we reached New Orleans, barney asked for my address. I told him and went back to gazing out the window. In no time, we were parked in front of my house in my empty driveway. I thanked the guys and punched in the code into my garage door opener. As I the door lifted slowly, I waved one last time to the car behind me before walking through the empty space and pressing the garage door opener by the door to my house. My front door and back door are almost always locked and I use the garage as an entrance mostly. 

I dropped the first aid kit onto the couch in the living room and shut all the blinds in the house, like I hadn't when I left for the parts store. I looked on the counter and there were my keys, wallet and phone, just like I left them. I started walking down the short hallway to my bedroom when I heard a knock on the door. I groaned and turned around and headed for the door. I looked through the peep hole and saw it was Sean, my creepy neighbor. I groaned in frustration as I unlocked the door and opened it a crack and pocked my head out. 

"What do you want?" I questioned, hoping my grumpy and tired emotion would be a big enough of a hint so he would leave soon. 

"I noticed you weren't home for a few days and then saw you being dropped off in a car full of strange looking guys. The blonde one even glared at me through my living room window!" Sean told me. 

"He doesn't like anyone, don't feel too special. " I grumbled. "Is there any life-threatening reason you're bothering me, Sean? or can I go back to bed?" I asked, annoyed by his very appearance at my front door. 

"Yeah, I just wanted to see if you were ok and was just curious as to why you were gone for a week so abruptly." He said, leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest. He pulled this stunt before. He crossed his arms over his chest to make his biceps look bigger as to impress me. He could not even come close to comparing to Caesar's biceps. Wait...what?

I shook my head and rubbed my temples, causing the door to open a little more. 

"I had to go for work. Business meeting in the next town over. Now can you go away, please. I need sleep." I stated in a partial lie. The lie was the business meeting. The not lie was I needed sleep. As soon as I stepped into my house, my eyelids had begun to droop and feel heavy.

"So abruptly? And with a bunch of strange guys?" He questioned once more.

"Look! I don't need to explain myself to you! You also don't need to know every aspect of my life like you're my over protective boyfriend, because you're not! Ok! Just leave me alone!" I shouted, slamming the door in his face and locking it behind me, leaving him frozen in place and then trying to talk to me through the window. I went up to the window, pulled the curtain back a little more before mouthing for him to go away and flipping him off before closing the curtain and storming to my bedroom. I plopped down on my bed and let out a sigh of relief. I'm not one to lose my temper, but Sean made me wanna rip out every hair on my head and then strangle him with it. 

I took a couple deep breathes and curled up under the covers after taking my boots off along with the slightly too small bra that had trapped my 36DD sized bust for way too long. I got comfy and tried to think of happy thoughts until I fell asleep peacefully. 

~~

I awoke around 7 a.m the next morning, feeling groggy and gross. I threw the blankets off me and sat up with my legs dangling off the edge of my bed. I rubbed my eyes; yawning and stretching until I felt alive. 

I got up and walked into the kitchen. I checked the fridge and cabinets fr anything that could satisfy my cravings for food. I settled on some cereal I had in my pantry. I had my breakfast on the couch, watching the news. 

"The human trafficking operation in Brazil has just been shut down by multiple groups of soldiers, mercenaries and the brave soul of New Orleans own. Her name cannot be told due to legal issues, but many of the girls trapped in the bases of operation are thankful she was there to get them to safety." The news reporter said in that boring and mundane news reporter voice that always bothered me. Even the radio station hosts told news more enthusiastically than news reporters. 

I finished my breakfast and cleaned up the kitchen a bit before having one of the longest showers I've had in a while. My hair was a rats nest which caused me to use a lot of conditioner and it turned out wavy and beautiful like always. I felt way more comfortable being in my own clothes, but I was in no mood to go to the store on foot again and my car desperately needed an oil change so I called a cab and asked them to wait outside the store while I got new oil, an oil pan, a couple industrial buckets and a pair of coveralls. 

Once I got home, I paid the driver a few bucks more than he asked for before going into the house through the front attached garage. I Immediately went out the back door to the garage. I organized my stuff, which was very little, and pulled my new coveralls over my clothes- and by clothes I mean comfy shorts and another tank top- and got out my tool box. I had gotten the tool box in a raffle from a hockey game I went to for some odd reason. 

I didn't have an ramps to put my car up on, but I was small enough I could squirm under my car with the oil pan and wrench. I let the oil drain and I laid under my beautiful car admiring her beauty. 

Once the oil was done being drained, I screwed the plug back into place and dumped the oil into one of the new buckets and set it in a corner, away from any flames or possible mess causing source. I added new oil and cleaned up my space and put everything back in their rightful place before hanging my coveralls on a hook on the ceiling and locking the door the garage behind me as I left. I locked my backdoor after I entered the house. I was about to sit down on the couch for a while when I heard a knock on my door. I groaned and prayed it wasn't Sean again, but when I opened the door, there was no one there except for a balloon coming out of my mailbox. 

I pulled a large folded envelope from the box and looked for a name. It read From Church on the front. I went back inside and let the balloon float freely up to my ceiling and locked the door. I opened the envelope to reveal three wads of cash and a smaller envelope. I pulled the small envelope out of the bigger one and set the bigger one on my counter before opening the smaller one. I pulled out the piece of paper carefully and read it. 

"To Evie,

I heard about what happened in Brazil. I'm sorry you had to go through that, but as a token of my gratitude for saving that group of girls, here's some cash to help pay off this months bills or treat yourself to something nice. I heard you also ran into The Expendables. Be careful around them. They're known for getting into trouble. Especially Frankenstein. 

Sincerely, Church."

I set the letter and it's envelope on the counter and picked up the wads of cash. It was three bundles of about 150 $100 bills. I smiled and put the cash in the envelope again and sealed it shut for safe keeping. I had a car now, but I was thinking of buying a motor cycle because why not. It was good to have an extra vehicle and I already had a helmet from a mission I went on a while back. It was a thank you gift from a group of people I saved. I thought about how I was going to go about this. It would seem a little strange to deposit such a large amount of money at one time, people would think I robbed a bank. And the bike shop was all the way across town it would be a pricey cab ride and an even longer walk. But, I did have to stop at the bank first, which was close enough I could walk and pick up a taxi after. 

Screw it! That's the plan. 

I grabbed a backpack and stuffed the helmet from my closet in the bottom before grabbing my wallet- making sure my cards and I.D was in there-, my phone and my keys to my house along with a new key ring to keep my hopefully new bike. I grabbed my vehicle insurance card along with any stuff I might need and secured it in a pocket on the inside of the backpack. I set the bag by the door to the garage and went back into my room to changed into a decent pair of blue jeans and grabbed a red and black plaid flannel to go over my black tank top. 

I brushed my hair out and braided it into one braid that fell over my shoulder and left with my backpack. It was a quiet and peaceful walk. Sean noticed me leave again through his window, but one I turned to look at him with a glare, he hid away like a coward. 

It took me about 45 minutes to walk to the bank my usual fast paced walk. I wouldn't call it speed-walking, but it was pretty quick strides. 

I had no complications depositing the money aside from my multiple trips from the machine outside to one of the ladies at the desk and back to the machine until my money was in the bank and secured in my bank account. I was set for my next part of my plan. 

I waved down a cab, told the driver where I was going and got out some spare change from my wallet so I was ready to go once we stopped. Another 45 to 60 minutes later, I was standing in front of a bike shop with some biker guys staring at me for longer than appreciated. I walked through the heavy metal doors that were kept open by a stack of tires on each side. 

There was a wide range of bikes here, ranging from Harley's to Ducati's. I wasn't looking for sleek speed bikes, more or less. I wasn't used to shopping for bikes. I had my bike license already from working in the CIA, but I was only given one to use for a job and most of those ended up in a ditch on fire in the desert somewhere. 

I ended up flagging down a sales manager or someone who could help me, because I was lost. I didn't know how to make decisions, to be brutally honest. 

After about two hours of looking at different bikes, I settled on a Harley, mainly black with some dark red undertones. It was great on fuel and wasn't too big for my smallish size. I managed to pay off most of it today and got to ride it out of the shop after all the paperwork shit and insuring it from their office. 

The ride home was smooth. I stopped the fill up the tank on the way home and since it came with small bags on the side, I picked up a thing or two from the store for dinner. I didn't buy nor did I need much to feed just me which saved me a lot of money. 

I parked my bike in the front attached garage for the most part, only because it was heated for my own comfort and it had better security. Easier access if someone tried to break in. I parked it near the stairs to get to the door of the house, out of the way and close to a wall, making it even more difficult for people to steal it quietly. 

I unloaded my groceries and organized everything out of my backpack, putting my important stuff back in the small safe hidden with my guns in the book case. 

By the time I was finished, it was only 4 o'clock. I had nothing to do besides sit around so I grabbed my laptop and went and sat on the front porch, only to see that I had a note tapped to my door. I plucked it off and unfolded the paper. 

"Evie,

The guys and I are getting together at Tool's on Saturday for drinks. Thought you might want to join us.

-Barney"

I folded the note back up and put it inside on one of the four stairs by my front door before going back to the porch, sitting on the stairs in peace. I knew this was a bad idea, being out in the open for Sean to see me and bother me, but I didn't care. I waved the the care taker of the elderly ladies next door as she pulled into the circular shaped street we lived on. 

I opened my laptop and signed on to the incognito website where I could find jobs to make some easy money. It was the only way I could keep myself occupied in my down time after I came home from a job; find another job. 

I had no family in the area and not many friends to hang out with, not sure whether to count the guys I had just met as friends or not. Working seemed to be my only activity and most of the time, I came home a little sore and a few scrapes here and there, but it didn't stop me from finding a job right away. But, to my demise, all the jobs either paid too low, didn't spark my interest or were taken. And after my recent payment off my new motorcycle, I would need a good paying job worth lots of cash to keep up to what I had previously. 

I was about to sign out of the website when I noticed a green flag on the bottom of my screen among the all black background. 

"Job Picks for Evie"

I clicked on it and it brought me to a screen with a few jobs that paid good money, some I had the opportunity to combine and make more money, but it got in the way of me meeting up with the guys on Saturday. I was to leave on Friday around 11 p.m and arrive in the jungle about 10 hours after. It was a solo job, the first part at least, but I chose to do both of them alone, denying any requests to join me. 

The first job had a vague description. Target, report and track the suspected criminal, known for smuggling heavy duty, anti-tank, Gears Of War type weaponry including bombs that let off a chemical gas that would smoke out an entire 10 story building plus some. Fortunately for me, those types of bombs wouldn't be at the site where the target would be. 

The second job, however, paid a little more than the first. It was taking down the target and keeping him in custody until the an American army group picked him up at 2 a.m the day following my take down. They located him when he was at his weakest. Many of his men were scattered, protecting the weaponry in different locations. He was meeting a client to sell. The client was already pulled back and kept in a prison or buying and trading weapons and/or drugs. 

Easy jobs. Easy money. More time for me to relax after.

I signed up, typed my normal info and then signed out. I was to receive an email later today that would verify my-

"Hey, Evie." I quickly shut my laptop, guarding the screen from Sean who had appeared in front of me. I prayed he didn't see anything from a reflection or something. 

"What do you want now, Sean?" I growled, standing up at the top of the porch. 

"I saw you bought a bike. Came to talk to you about it. " he said with his stupid smile that any dumb tramp could fall for. I kept a straight face the entire time. 

"I did buy a bike. No, I'm not talking to you about it. I don't care that you find my life so much more interesting than yours, but I will tell you one last time. I don't appreciate you constantly invading my life like this and next time, I will throw yours ass across the street if you do not do as I say and leave me alone. Is that understood?" I told him, his face going from happy and flirty to deer in the headlights. He didn't nod. He didn't talk. He just stood there like a museum artifact. I sent one last final scowl at him before walking back into my house and locking the door. The curtains were all still shut and hopefully my windows were locked, but I made a trip around to ensure they still were before putting my laptop on the counter and rummaged through my kitchen to put something together for myself to eat. I settled on pasta and got all my pots out. 

I paused mid cooking to empty my dishwasher so I had room to put my dirty dishes when I was done. The one thing I loved about living alone, is I could buy little jars of pasta sauce and small portions of everything since I'm only feeding myself and maybe have leftovers for the next days lunch or something. 

I boiled the water and put the sauce in a small pot to warm it up before adding the noddles to the water. I heard a ping come from my laptop, signaling that I had an email. I opened the screen and opened the email which contained most of the info I needed, prior to going to the job. The same team of people who would fly me over would also be my extraction team once the military came and grabbed the targeted suspect, who's name was Albert Winston. He had military training in combat and was apparently good with guns. But so am I, so it didn't make a difference. 

I saved all the information and forwarded it to my work phone so I had it on hand. I finished making my dinner and ate while watching TV. I didn't own a table, just bar stools to go next to the island counter by the kitchen. I also had my living room, which it's hardwood floors made for easy clean up of spills and what not. 

I wasn't planning on washing dishes by hand and i didn't own expensive pots and pans so everything went into the dishwasher as I went to go get ready for my next job. 

I packed a duffel bag of my weapons of choice, which I had duplicates of, and I set out my mission clothes. 

Black cargo pants with my utility belt, complete with a pair of boots with hidden compartments for knives. I layered on clothing sometimes, usually starting with a black tank top with a black long sleeve shirt over top and a torso gun holster with a black jacket over top, weather resistant and silence unlike those other rain jackets. 

Once I had everything together, I went over the email and the game plan once more and by the time I was done and had everything ready now 2-3 days prior, it was close to 8:30, the sun had disappeared, but light still shone. I figured it was a nice time to go for a ride on my bike. I grabbed a small jacket to go over my tank top and plaid and grabbed my keys and my wallet. I put my wallet in the inside pocket of my jacket and my keys in my bike once I reached it in the garage. I backed out of the garage and put the kickstand down so I could close the garage door. My door closer had a pin and also a finger print scanner on the front cover. You had to get my finger print to open the pin buttons unless I had the setting changed from the box in the garage. 

I started up my bike outside, making damn sure Sean heard it before driving off down the street. I loved this thing. 

~End of Chapter 5~


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With a new task at hand, and her neighbor becoming creepishly....creepier, Evie chooses to focus on work and deal with side notes later. Is that the wrong decision?

Evie's POV

I stopped just under a bridge and sat for a little while, admiring all the stars as they came out and flooded the dark night sky. I was always fond of stars and the solar system, but never got into it, mainly because I was already taking a course in chemistry and Psychological Studies and adding astronomy to the list would have made my schooling expenses way higher than my parents would allow for the short time I actually attended college, whether it was online or in an actual campus. 

After a while of star gazing, I strapped my helmet on, thinking of where to go next. As I drove around on my bike, I noticed a couple other bikers going in the same direction I was going at first before turned off. I decided to see where they were going, not in a creepy way, but an exploratory way. Which eventually ended me up at a bar. Now I'm not one to drink and drive, but I didn't have any alcohol at my house and one drink never hurt anybody, so I parked as close to a window as I could get and took my key out of ignition, hiding it in my bra for safe keeping. 

I strapped my helmet to my left handle bar, leaving it swaying from the motion before walking inside. It was a bit crowded, enough to make one feel incredibly lost, but I didn't mind. As long as no one attacked me. 

I found a lone seat in a corner by the bar and sat down, waiting only a couple moments for the bar tender to take my order. I got my usual bar drink, Jack Daniels off the rocks, straight up. Jacks was either too expensive or not in stock at any liquor store I went to, so I never bought any. Last time I had a bottle to myself, it was a Christmas gift sent by Darcy. 

I sat quietly alone, slowly sipping at my drink until there was none left and I ordered another. Yes, I know. I said I was only going to have one drink, but bars seriously skip out on the good stuff, man. two half glasses count as one, right? 

By the time I was done my second drink, I had been sitting at the bar for more than an hour. I finally decided to get my ass off the stool and go home when I spotted Barney and the guys. It was no denying it when I knew they would try to convince me to stay if they spotted me and the only thing I wanted to do was go home and sleep for the night, preparing for my new job. 

I asked the bartender if there was a back door I could use, telling another white lie about someone here I didn't want to deal with. He nodded and led me around the bar to the employees only area and held the back door open for me. I thanked him and left quietly. 

I cautiously walked around front, avoiding any eye contact through the misty front windows and managed to reach my bike without any complications. It wasn't that I didn't like the guys or wanted to stay for another drink, I just wanted to go home, maybe eat some more food. 

I had pulled my helmet off the handle and strapped it over my dome and dug my keys out of my bra and stuck them into the ignition, turning on my bike. I was about to start it when I heard someone call my name. I sighed and put both feet on the ground and turned to find the source of the voice. 

My solo mission failed. They found me. Well....Barney did. And a small Chinese man beside him seemed confused. 

"Hey, Barney. Who's this?" I greeted and asked, pointing to the man beside him. 

"Oh, this is Yang. Yang, this is Evie. She's like us." Barney explained to him. He still looked confused. 

"Like us? You mean killers?" The man, Yang, questioned, getting a laugh or two out of Barney and I. 

"Yeah, kind of. You part of their team?" I asked Yang. He nodded in response. "How come you weren't in Brazil?" I asked. 

"I took a break." He said plainly. I didn't bother asking questions, I just nodded. 

"Well, now that you two have met, Yang, go back inside. I gotta talk to Evie for a sec." Barney said. I waved good bye to Yang and he did the same in return before going back inside. 

"Why'd you shoo him off so soon? Got a secret to tell me?" I asked with a sarcastic grin. 

"No, no secrets." He said, taking a sip from his beer. 

"Well, then what is it? You have a voice, use it and tell me." I said, earning a disapproving look from him. 

"Evie, do you know your neighbor? The creepy, invasive one?" He asked out of no where.

"I choose not to only for the sole purpose that he is creepy and slightly invasive like one of those over protective and controlling boyfriends. And his name's Sean. God, saying his name out loud makes him sound like a douche." I stated, the last part mainly to myself. 

"Just...be careful around him. The guys and I are tracking a job and we have suspicions that he might be involved." Barney explained, earning more of my interest. 

"What kind of job and what kind of involvement?" I questioned, raising a stern eyebrow. 

"We don't know yet. So far, it's only learning about him and his so-called 'partner'. " he told me. I nodded, leading into silence. I sat there thinking about maybe him being connected to the job I took in weapons transport. Of course, I wasn't about to tell Barney that. I saw Barney shift his weight from one leg to another while grabbing something out of his back pocket and handing me a folded piece of paper. 

"Mine and all the guys' numbers are on here. If you suspect anything or if he tries anything on you, call one of us and we'll take him in for questioning. We can contacts that will take care of the rest." He told me. I took the piece of paper and shoved it into another inside pocket in my jacket that was open. 

"Alright. But I can't promise, that in that situation, he'll be in one piece." I told him. 

"I don't doubt it." He said with a slight smile as I started my bike. I waved at him as he backed away a couple steps and he waved back before I took off down the street. I glanced in my rear view to see Gunner pop up beside him, but after that, I was gone. 

~Time Skip~

The next morning, I did my daily routine I always do before going on a job; eat as little as I can to prepare myself for sticky situations, drink as little water or any fluids as I can and wear my job clothes around the house. It was almost like a ritual. I practice keeping my guard up which means checking my surroundings when ever I hear a noise somewhere. It might sound crazy, but I do it, or at least try to do it, every time before a job somewhere isolated. 

I turned on the global news station on my TV in hopes of finding something reporting on the job. I gather as much data and information I can to further help me prepare for extraction and or execution of Plan B. I do research on my computer and email people for any information, only to get responses saying the people picking me up will have everything I could possibly need when they go to drop me over the jungle. 

I kept the piece of paper with the guys' numbers on it close by and even added them into both my work phone and my personal in case of severe emergency. I was constantly checking Sean's house for any suspicious movement inside or activity around the house. So far, as of 2 o'clock in the after noon, nothing. Sean was outside, mowing his lawn and doing yard work which I watched closely, but went undetected, for any signs of him hiding anything. I ducked out of sight when his eyes trailed over to my house and one time, while I was checking my laptop, he knocked on my door. He knew very well that I was home and he would only keep knocking if I didn't answer, no matter how hard I tried to ignore him. He would hear me go into the garage in the front of my house and he would hear me walk out my backdoor. 

The it hit me. 

He wouldn't hear me if I went in through my cellar. The cellar had a dirt tunnel that led to another door in the garage out back. I would have access to my garage without leaving my house and I would still have access to WiFi because I have a router in there. My only problem was trying to get from the floor in my living room to my bedroom without him seeing my silhouette through the curtains, which reminded me, I needed to get new curtains. 

I decided to give it my best shot at army crawling across the floor until I was behind the couch. I slid my laptop across the floor until both me and my computer were safe. 

"The shit I go through to get this guy to leave me alone." I mumbled to myself as I stood up and proceeded towards my bedroom. 

With no effort, I slid under my bed, pressed the button to open the door and climbed into my cellar. It was bare empty, even though I told myself I would fill it with other weapons.

The tunnel to the garage was small, meaning I would have to crawl and get filthy just to get to safety. 

"Seriously though. What is with this guy?" I cursed as I finely reached the garage in one piece. I set my laptop on the low setting counter and pulled over my extra bucket as a stool and continued working. Only for someone to knock on my garage door. I ducked down behind my car, cursing under my breath once more. Sean was tall enough he could see through the small windows in the garage door standing on his tip toes. I spotted the door I came up in and didn't want to risk it so with out hesitation I shut it quickly and quietly and tried my very best to open the door without him noticing. 

But then I remembered I locked my back door. So I shut it again. And after a few moments, opened and shut it again like I was walking through my back door, hoping it would fool him enough to leave me alone. 

After a few minutes, I ruled it safe to go back through the tunnel and into the cellar. I made it back safe and sound, but he was still knocking on my front door. 

"Just a break from this guy would be great." I mumbled to myself as I set my laptop in my office across my house and went to go answer the door. By now, it was now close to 4 p.m. and I was getting so tired of his shit it wasn't even funny. I opened the door the same as I did last time, only a little so he could only see me head. 

"Why were you hiding? I only wanted to talk." He said, looking quite sad. 

"I was trying to get my work done without contact with you getting in the way. Clearly it's fucking illegal to have some privacy in your own home!" I snapped, loud enough for the police man that lived across the way could hear from his front steps. 

"Look, I just wanted to talk. It was quite urgent actually. That's why I kept trying to find you." he said, sounding almost sincere, but them a seductive smirk placed itself upon his lips. "You playing hard to get was turning me on for a second." I rolled my eyes, trying not to give him the reaction he was looking for, but with this guy, you could react about ten different ways and he'd still be satisfied. 

"Can you please do me a huge favor and leave me the hell alone? I have a lot of work to get done and if you truly cared about me as much as you claim, you would do as I say." I told him, holding my hands together in front of my chest as if I was praying to Baby Jesus! 

"You know what, you're right. It was wrong of me to invade your privacy like that. I apologize, but I have a business proposition for you." He said, taking a step away. I internally groaned as he finished his sentence. 

"What is it?" I asked, trying not to show interest since I had my own job. 

"There's this guy I know, a weapons dealer. I need someone to play as my assistant while I try to take him into government hands." He explained. I remembered what Barney said and \I remembered what my job was. 

"Look, it sounds like an adventure, but I think I'm good. I'm leaving soon anyway for work." I told him, careful not to tell him too much. 

"Alright, suit yourself. " he said, walking away back to his house. I sighed and went back inside, locking the door and checking every entrance to my house to make sure it was locked before going back to work. 

~End Of Chapter 6~


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evie starts her new job, and it goes quite well to begin with. But a familiar face shows up and things get hairy

**Evie's POV**

By the time I left my house, Sean had long disappeared. I had no idea where he went, yet I didn't want to know nor did I care. 

I was picked up on Friday around 9 p.m and was driven to an airstrip after an hour and a half drive. I loaded my gear into the plane and we took off. I was introduced to my extraction team while I got ready and by got ready I meant strapping my weapons to my body and making sure I had everything in my backpack which I would have strapped to my chest while I jumped from the plane with my parachute. 

I had about 9 hours to sleep so I laid down on the floor and shut my eyes while my extraction team did what ever it was they were doing. 

~

I was woken up by one of my teammates as we approached my drop spot. I double checked my gear, throwing my jacket on and zipping it up. I put my backpack over my front as a couple of them helped me get ready for drop. The harness was uncomfortable to sit in so I stood the entire time, holding onto a piece of metal on the ceiling. About 10 minutes before drop, my parachute was strapped on and I stood by the hatch where I was supposed to drop from, avoiding getting caught up under the wing. 

"5 minutes until drop!" The pilot yelled back. I make sure my helmet was on tight before placing my goggled over my eyes. One of the guys went over my equipment once more. 

"30 seconds until drop!" The pilot yelled again as my heart started racing. My breathing hitched as the guy checking my equipment stepped away from the hatch. 

"Good Luck!" he shouted over the sound of the wind through the plane. I nodded and saluted the team before jumping out of the plane, my hand on my parachute chord as I descended at rapid speed. I looked up at the plane and once it was a certain distance away, I pulled the chord, enabling my parachute. I jerked back in the air and slowed my fall. 

I kept an eye out for any enemies as I landed in a tree, my parachute catching in the branches. I cut away the ropes and sat on a branch as I unclipped the harness and adjusted my backpack on my back instead of my front as I climbed down. Once on the ground, I threw off my goggles and helmet and hid them in the ground somewhere before leaving. 

It was almost noon in the jungle and by the time I was set up in my bird watching position, it was closer to 3 p.m. and I hadn't eaten anything since I left my house. I started a fire and snacked on a can of soup which would give me the necessary energy to go another 12-14 hours of manhunts. I cleaned up any sign of me even being here before getting on high ground and digging out my binoculars. I had about 10 miles to go before I had clear view of their base, even through the trees. Which means I would have to walk the whole way. I decided to check my tracking systems for any sign of enemies before keeping my GPS and tracking device on my hip as I started walking. I held my rifle close to my chest, the strap hanging loosely just over the top of my backpack. As the sun set, I got out a headpiece the extraction team gave me. It had a scope over my left eye which helped me see through the dark with another arm with another scope for my right eye, but it was better if I kept one eye normal until the sun fully set, which wasn't for another 4 hours or so, but I got it out now so I wasn't struggling to find it in that half dark half light time of day. I had a flash light ready to go in a pocket of my chest protector just over my left breast, but I wasn't too fond of using it, only because of my tendency to get caught when using it. 

While walking, I would sometimes stop just to look around and listen, and point my tracking device in the direction I came from to ensure no one was following me. When I had my tracker out, I would also scan the area I was going into while also checking my GPS to make sure I was even going in the right direction before continuing on my way. I held my gun tight, while also glancing around me, keeping my guard up. I walked gingerly, in case someone was around and they heard me stepping on sticks or leaves on the ground. My at-home preparation pays off in these types of scenarios, especially when my target could be anywhere, watching anytime. 

For some reason, the thought of Barney and the guys kept popping up in my mind. How did Tool know I was a mercenary? Did he have access to my CIA files? I couldn't answer these questions and it bothered me; to an extent where I had to stop, kneel down and clear my mind. It took a big amount of time out of my mission just to push these things away, but when I did, I made up for time, but using a zip line contraction I was given to get down a hill. I climbed a tree with a clear view of where I needed to go and aimed for a tree out in the open. I had scanned the area before hand so I didn't get shot at on my way down. Once I pulled the trigger, I used my binoculars to see if the hook came into contact with my target; to no avail, it did. I pulled the gun apart, wrapping the back end and the rope around the tree I was on before clipping my handle piece onto the front of the gun. Once I was secured, I checked the landing area again before jumping off and zipping through the air. It gave quite a rush, increasing my adrenaline levels and my overall energy. I pulled down on the line to  slow down before letting go just before the tree. I climbed the tree the gun was attached to and took the handle piece off before pressing the retract button. I waited for the line and the back of the gun to come whirring back as the coil retracted and the gun went back into one piece. It was heavy duty and totally awesome! I grinned as I through it back over my backpack before climbing down. I had to make up for wasted time and so I picked up the pace, my gaze switching from what's ahead of me and the tracker I had in my hand, until I broke out into a light jog just to keep me awake. 

**-TimeSkip-**

Once I reached my lookout point, which happened to be on top of a building parallel to that of the one my target was suppose to be in. I grabbed my snipe scope and attached it to my rifle so I had better chances of catching him. I waited for two hours and still nothing. I decided to eat something quickly so I grabbed a protein bar from my backpack and ate it while still looking through the scope. I had just finished my food when a heavy duty truck pulled up in front of the building I was on top of. I quickly grabbed my radio, not taking my eyes off of it when my target got out with what seemed like a familiar face, but I  wasn't sure. They had dark hair and all dark clothing, like anyone in this business.

"Roberts, to extraction. I repeat, Roberts to Extraction." I said into the radio, moving my scope to stay with the target. 

~"Go ahead, Evie."~ the pilot said back. I didn't bother learning their names, only the codes. 

"Target spotted. Should I proceed with part 2?" I asked, following them as the target, Albert Winston, went towards his meet up spot, but the other guy started going into the building I was on. I panicked, not sure what to do. 

~"Affirmative. Let us know if there's a problem."~ they responded. I sucked in a breath as I heard orders being shouted out bellow me, but I continued to follow Winston into the other building. It wasn't big, 4 stories, maybe a basement, not very many places to hide. 

"Problem detected. Enemies entering my look out point. Looking for escape route." I told them, as I held my gaze on Winston, following him into the building and through the windows. It was open, so I had a view of the other side of the building through the windows. 

~"Negative. Take out target if you can, we'll be there for extraction and back up, over."~ he told me. 

"Message received and understood. Over." I said before loading a bullet in the chamber, aiming for a nonlethal shot, but instead, the sound of a pistol being cocked behind my head was heard. 

"So this is what you were hiding from me. Interesting. " a voice followed. I froze, not making any sudden movements. 

"Sean," I said under my breathe. I put my hands out, away from my gun so he wouldn't shoot me. I slowly began to turn, getting a full view of his changed figure. Contacts and hair dye can go a long way. 

"Hello, Evie. It's nice to see that this is what you denied my request for. Classy." He taunted, holding the gun above my face. Without thinking, I spun on my back kicking his gun away and sweeping his legs out from under him. He fell and rolled as I grabbed my radio. 

"Roberts to extraction. I have been compromised. I repeat I have been compromised!" I yelled into the radio before a hand grabbed me by the back of my vest and lifting me. I spun as hard and as fast as I could to face them, only to be hit with the butt end of the gun. I fell instantly, dots clouding my vision as someone pulled on the front of my vest to meet their face. 

'You should have stayed at home, skank." Sean threatened before punching me into unconsciousness. 

 

**Time Skip**

 

 

When I came to, I felt material around my wrists, my arms elevated. I groaned as a light was turned on in front of me. I hissed and turned my head away. A few seconds later, the light was pulled back and my eyes were able to adjust quickly. 

"So....you're the one they sent to retrieve me. Hilarious." Winston said from a chair in front of me. 

 "Gotta make money somehow." I responded, my toes just barely touching the floor. I saw Winston nod at someone outside of my peripheral vision before I felt a killer blow to the gut. I winced, sucking in a breath after I was just winded. I coughed a bit before lifting my head again to face Winston once more. 

"You know, I was warned about you and your mouth. And I'm curious to see your abilities in action, but...I have business to attend to." He said, standing up from his chair and turning to leave. 

"What business?" I asked, a sly grin forming on my face. 

"I beg your pardon?" he half turned to face me. 

"Your business is locked up in a military controlled area. He's not coming. Your business for today is over." I said chuckling. "You heard about my attitude, but did you hear about my intelligence? This was planned before I even left my house for this job." I told him, my grin turning into a full fledged smile, laced with evil and taunt. 

"Interesting." He mumbled before turning to leave before something sharp was jabbed into my side and electricity entered my system, knocking me out once more. 

 

**Time Skip**

 

When I woke again, I was still hanging in the same position I was in previously. It was dark, the light was off- and gone entirely- and the windows were just barely covered. For some reason I felt an immense amount of sadness take over. Winston knew how to cover his tracks if his plans are foiled, which likely means he left the area and erased any sign of him even being here, which means I'll likely never be found again and if I was, it'll be 10  years from now with nothing but my bones left hanging from what ever was holding me up. I felt tears fall, for once I felt completely useless. I probably should have let someone come with me on this job, but that would mean dragging them into this same position of possible death. I choked down sobs, trying not to give up too soon, but it was quite impossible since I had been checked for  all my weapons. My vest was gone and all my belongings sat in a corner, just barley visible in the pale light in the room that seemed to be diminishing. Sun down. Great. Just what I needed. This area was abandoned, but still in good shape, but the only inhabitants were the stray dogs I had shooed out of the area before Winston got here, long before he got here. Soon enough, the sun would go down and my scent would carry out through the broken windows, catching the noses of hungry vermin's and their taste for flesh. The smaller ones would probably start at my feet, and as the animals got bigger, I slowly would get picked apart up to my hips. 

I tried not to think of it and instead tried to lead my mind to more positive notes. I tried singing a song, one I've liked for a while. Piano Man by Billy Joel. It was calming and I thought that maybe it could help. 

_"It's 9 o'clock on a Saturday, the regular crowd shuffles in. There's an old man sitting next to me, making love to his tonic and gin."_

_"He says, Son can you play me a memory. I'm not really sure how it goes. But it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete, when I wore a younger mans clothes."_

_"La la la la di da da, la la di da da da dum."_

_"Sing us a song, you're the piano man, sing us a song tonight,"_

_"Well, we're all in the mod for a melody, and you've got us feeling alright. "_

_"Now John at the bar is a friend of mine, get's me my drinks for free. And he's quick with a joke or to light up your smoke, but there's some place that he'd rather be."_

At this point in time, the only sound I could hear was me singing softly to myself, probably bringing the wild dogs to my location, but I didn't care. 

_"He says, Bill I believe this is killing me, as the smile ran away from his face. Well I'm sure that  I could be a movie star, if I could get out of this place. "_

_"Oh, la la la la di da da, la la di da da da dum."_

_"Now Paul is a real estate novelist, who's never had time for a wife. And he's talking with Davy, who's still in the Navy and probably will be for life."_

_"And the waitress is practicing politics, as the businessmen slowly gets stoned, Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness, but it's better than drinking alone."_

_"Sing us a song, you're the piano man, sing us a song tonight,"_

_"Well, we're all in the mod for a melody, and you've got us feeling alright."_

_"It's a pretty good crowd, for a Saturday, and the manager gives me a smile. Because he knows that it's me, they've been coming to see, to forget about life for a while."_

_"And the piano it sounds like a carnival, and the microphone smells like a beer, and they sit at the bar, putting bread in my jar, saying, Man, what are you doing here?"_

_"Oh, la la la la di da da, la la di da da da dum."_

_"Sing us a song, you're the piano man, sing us a song tonight,"_

_"Well, we're all in the mod for a melody, and you've got us feeling alright."_

As I finished the song, I felt a wave of tiredness crash over me as a yawn escaped my mouth. Being hung up by the arms must drain you, or being electrocuted until unconsciousness, but what would I know. I heard the howling of the wild and stray dogs among other sounds before gun shots. I was right in front of a window so I could get shot in the back at any moment now, and no one would know. I heard engines being shut off and I tried to listen closer to hear voices, but nothing. Maybe I was on a higher floor than I thought, or a different building all together. I was too tired to call out, in case it really was just Winston leaving late or the person(s) couldn't hear me. I decided to ignore it and replay the song in my head again before a headache kicked it and I was forced to stop. Hunger pains set it after which makes me think I've been hanging here for longer than a day. I probably was since I was knocked out, woke up here not knowing how long I've been unconscious, was knocked out again and woke up a second time, present time. 

I looked up to see what was tying me up, and it was really thick rope, but Winston must have had the decency to wrap clothe around my wrists under neath the rope so my wrists weren't chafing yet, just sore from being elevated like this. I looked straight ahead once I heard a distant sound like someone busting through a door or knocking something over with brute force. Maybe it was help, maybe it was people Winston sent to finish me off. There was no way I could ever rip through the rope, but if someone came through to attack me, maybe my legs would be strong enough to use the person as a step stool to get to the metal beam I was tied too and untie it myself from a different angle, while dodging possible bullets. 

Whoever entered the building, assuming they actually did, was probably not given my location or were searching for me, because they took a long time to reach me. By the time I heard even mild footsteps, approximately 30 minutes had passed and then the quiet "clear" was heard from down a hallway when they checked each room. I tried to get myself pumped and ready to fight, but the adrenaline never came. Just more tiredness. If someone was here to kill me, it'll be an easy job. I heard whoever was out there, approached the door and try to open it by just the handle, but the entrance had been blocked some how, from the inside, which meant someone was still in here and I couldn't see them or they had a secondary exit through a window maybe. 

The people on the other side were probably running into the door by now and failing miserably until it stopped. I heard nothing until  something blew up, causing the doors to flying inward and the force pushed me back and I swung like a pig in a butcher shop. Dust filled the room and I couldn't cover my mouth and nose to prevent from breathing it in so I held me breath after I swung up, I opened an eye to see the dust clearing and I let out the breathe and coughed a bit more before guys with guns marched into the room, checking to the sides before aiming at me. The dust still clearing slowly by the door. 

"If you're here to kill me, just get it over with." I said, hanging my head and looking down at my feet so dust didn't blow into my eyes. If I was going out, I'm not going out with dry eyes. I heard footsteps get closer before stopping in front of me. I lifted my tired head to see some familiar faces.

"Gunner? Caesar?" I questioned, not believing my eyes. 

"To the rescue." Gunner said proudly. I couldn't help but crack a grin as the two.

"It's good to see you in one piece instead of many like we were warned." Caesar told me.

"That's not really making me feel better." I stated as Gunner cut the rope down and I landed on my feet, but stumbled a bit before my hands were cut loose. I thanked him as he threw the rope away and I walked over to my stuff.

"How long have you been stuck up there?" Caesar asked, pointing to where I was previously hanging. 

"No clue. Probably a day, maybe less." I said as I put all my weapons back on me before my vest and picking up my bag and my rifle that was left out.

"How'd you guys find me here anyway?" I asked them, throwing the strap to my rifle over my head and around my neck. 

"Your extraction team got your compromised message, they sent us in to save you and help finish the job." Gunner answered, before Caesar could even open his mouth to speak. 

"Well, better late than never. Let's get out of here in case he did send people to kill me." I said and followed them out, my gun ready for anything. Before I knew it, we were outside meeting with Barney, Yang, Lee and Toll. 

"Good to see you  in one piece!" Barney greeted us from one of their trucks. 

"Good to see you, too, Barney. And you were right about my neighbor." I admitted. 

"What about him?" Barney asked. 

"He's working with or for Winston. He's the one that found me up on that building." I explained, pointing to my old look out point. 

"Shoulda called earlier." Lee spoke up, not as mad as the last time I saw him. 

"Boss, I just got a transmission that Winston has reached his secondary meeting point. If we leave now, we could be able to stop him." Yang told us. 

"Say the word boss." Toll said, looking at Barney.

"Not my mission." he said, turning to look at me. "Say the word." I stood there, all eyes on me as I racked my brain for words to say. 

"How about I don't lead the team to certain death and I just follow the team instead, ok? OK. Let's go." 

**-Time Skip-**

We found the secondary location and I hitched a ride since I walked to Winston's first location....and zip lined....but that's irrelevant. 

I napped for a good 4 hours of the 8 hour flight to a different country. Winston got there fast and I was started to question how long I was really hung up. I slept and ate and regained my strength before checking over my weapons; making sure everything was in it's place, cleaning and loading my guns, sharpening my knives with Gunner's knife block and eventually talking with Toll about his book he was reading. For the  next hour after that, he was reading out loud to all of us as entertainment with me eventually using his leg as a pillow and shutting my eyes once more, my arm draped over my face as I listened intently to every word. 

I didn't realize I had fallen asleep until we hit turbulence and I fell off the bench and Barney called back to us. 

"Landing in 5 minutes. Get ready." I stood up and put my  weapons back; layers back on, knives in the boots, vest on and ect, before transferring everything I'd need from my backpack to my person before throwing my bag in an overhead basket net. I threw the strap to my rifle over my head and held it close, the safety trigger on so I didn't shoot anybody. I strapped into my seat when the others did as we took a rough landing. 

I helped drape some coverage over the plane before we went over the plan. I was teamed up with Lee, Toll and Gunner on the team that goes in first and takes out most of the enemies from the ground up while Barney, Yang and Caesar started from the roof.  

The secondary location wasn't as heavily guarded on the outside than it was on the inside so we were able to use silenced guns to take out everyone outside before going Hell's Bells on the inside security details Winston had set up. I crouched down low going around every corner, knowing damn well my knees would hate me after, so I had better advantage shots. You won't expect someone coming around the corner close to the ground than you would a person standing up, which means I led the way until we got stopped on the second floor. Barney, Yang and Caesar had scaled the outside of the building and were working their way down from the top floor. Winston was somewhere in the middle. The four of us were split on either side of the hallway, hidden around a concrete wall. I looked around for any other means of getting past these people until I spotted a hole in the wall past Gunner and Lee. I remembered that Toll had smoke bombs on him, so I stole one from his vest, pulled the pin and let it fly down the hallway towards the enemy, blinding them of me before sprinting across the hallway to Gunner and Lee's side. They gave me confused looks. 

"Stay here and wait for my signal." I said lowly but loud enough they could here it over some minor gun fire. I gave Toll a hand signal to wait there until the others moved when I told them so before running to the hole in the wall. It was just small enough that I could fit through and it led to another room which connected to another balcony style hallway behind the enemy. The security wasn't that smart because all of them were in that one hallway, boxing them in which left me the element of surprise. 

I snuck down the walk way, close to the wall until I reached the door way to the hall the security was in. I readied a grenade and took a deep breathe. I pulled the pin, but held the trigger before swinging open the door and tossing it straight in the air, above the enemy, before closing the door and running back a little. I curled up by the wall and waited for the explosion. 

I covered my ears as the grenade went off and more gunfire, heavy gunfire, echoed through the halls of the floor we were on. I stood up once the gun fire ceased and readied my gun as I approached the door as it was swung open. With my reflexes at their peak, I managed to duck out of the way of Gunner's rapid gunfire. 

"Dammit, Gunner! You could have killed me!" I shouted at him as some slight dust settled. I waved some of it away from my face from my position on the ground...partly through the wall. Yes, I threw myself that hard into the wall. 

"Oops....sorry.." he apologized halfheartedly. I shook my head and rolled my eyes before pushing myself away from the hole in the wall that I had created before standing up and retrieving my gun from close to the edge of the walkway. We kept moving up the stairs until we reached halfway. The other three were down the long stretch, waiting for orders to enter. I counted down from three over the comm before we busted through the doors, only to be met with Winston himself, with  his hands in the air. 

"You're smarter than you seem. I'll give you that." He said, looking me dead in the eye. "Your old team must have taken both of my business, leaving me here; defenseless, alone."

"Am I suppose to pity you?" I snarled, keeping my gun raised and aimed at him. 

"But I am unarmed, why are you and your men still have your guns pointed at me?" He asked, giving me a false sad look. 

"Because we can't trust you, Winston." Barney spoke up from the other side of the room. 

"Come see for yourself. I have no weapons." he said, turning back to me with his arms spread out. I glanced at Barney, looking for opinion on trusting this guy. He shrugged his shoulders a bit so I too the decision into my own hands by slowly stepping closer, my heart beating faster with each step until I was sure it would fail. I kept my gun aimed at his heart until I reached him. I frisked his right side, starting at his arm, moving down his torso and down his leg. I was about to move to his left side when he kicked me down and explosions went off around us and the floor dropped from beneath us. I curled into fetal position, foolishly letting my gun slip away from me as we fell down each floor. When we landed, I was winded from impact, but Winston was no where to be seen. I winced as I pushed myself up onto my knees, catching my breathe before lifting myself to my feet. The impact definitely bruised something, I'm not sure what, but something. Pain erupted everywhere, as I held my left arm- the one I landed on- as I looked around from Winston or my gun. I spotted my gun a few feet away and even stepped for it when Winston landed right in between point A and point B. 

"Remember when I said, I was curious to see your abilities in action? Well.....why don't we make that wish come true, shall we?" He said before kicking me straight in the gut, winding me once more and sending me doubling over. I felt like I had to puke from all the impacts in the last few minutes. 

"Maybe I'll be a little disappointed." he taunted, taking off this jacket to reveal a black dress shirt. Then I remembered a certain skill I like to use that I attained in high school: rugby tackling, go low, wrap your arms around your opponents legs, pull their legs down and push up with your shoulder. Works perfectly every time.

I took a couple steps back, putting distance in between him and I. He stepped closer and I bents my knees, getting low. Closer, I aimed myself perfectly until we was close enough. I ran at him, wrapped my arms around his leg, lodging my shoulder in his gut and taking him down to the ground where I was able to throw punch after punch after punch to his face, his head, his throat, basically anything to stun him and keep him down until the guys came back down to what ever floor we were on. I stood up, catching my breathe. I stepped back, stumbling on a piece of the floor before seeing figures in my peripheral vision. I turned to my left to see the guys standing there in awe.

"H-...how did you take him down like that?" Caesar asked, eyes wide in shock.

"And how so easily?" Toll followed suit. 

"High school rugby. It's not about strength, it's about technique." I explained before Winston finally started getting back up, but only made it to sitting up right from I sent a kick straight into his chest, sending him back down! Boo yah! 

"Military extraction is on it's way. You can relax now." Barney said, placing a hand on my left shoulder. I winced and shoved his hand off, holding onto my arm again. 

"What's wrong with you?" Lee asked, walking over. I gave him a look of disbelief. I looked up to the hole in the five floors we fell down and even pointed at it. 

"You tell me, Christmas, you tell me." I answered before giving up and laying down on the floor, even if it was in pieces. I groaned as I felt a piece of debris digging in my bad shoulder, but I ignored it and focused on the pain in my back instead. Every bone in my body and every muscle I have, felt like they died. I didn't know how long I was laying there, but eventually Gunner approached and Caesar and Toll took Winston  away. 

"Alright, time to go." Gunner said, lifting my up off the ground by the top of my vest. He took my right arm and draped it over his shoulders as he half carried me out of the building to where the army of what ever country we were in ran around. The sun was setting and I was handed off to medics. Gunner stood by and took all my stuff as they removed my vest, my weapons and my top two layers- my jacket and long sleeve shirt-, leaving me in my black tank top that was slipping down until I yanked it back up with my good arm. The paramedics checked my neck, back and hip stability and mobility before working on my shoulder. It was probably close to being dislocated after the fall and the tackle I dished out to Winston. They didn't even say anything, in English or their native language, they just popped my shoulder- probably back into place- and gave my once of those one-time-use ice packs. I held the pack to my shoulder and grimaced as the pain came back. The medics almost started treating my other minor wounds when barney shooed them away for a minute. 

"How's the shoulder?" he asked, holding onto the top of his vest. Gunner was long gone with all my stuff which I was kind of mad at because it was getting cooler and I was in a tank top.

"Meh." I answered with a blank expression.

"What's wrong? You seem upset about something." He asked again. 

"Gunner took my stuff to the truck. It had my jacket. Its cold out. I hate it." I said bluntly, earning only a chuckle from Barney. I cracked a grin as he waved Gunner back over with all my stuff. 

"Yes?" Gunner questioned as he arrived at the truck I was sitting on. 

"Give the girl her jacket back, you maroon." Barney told him. I just sat there, feeling slightly useless as I held the ice pack to my shoulder. 

"Oh, right." Gunner mumbled as he set my pile of stuff on the tail gate I was sitting out and un-rumpled my jacket and throwing it over my shoulders and pulling it shut over my front, doing up the zipper as far as it would go. 

"Thanks, Gunner." I said softly, still looking at my feet that dangled below me. He smiled and nodded before taking my pile of stuff back to the truck while Barney leaned against the tail gate beside me. 

"So.....about Sean..." He started. 

"They didn't find him did they?" I asked, knowing he probably got away somehow, Scott-free. 

"No." silence. 

"Any good news?" I asked, shifting the ice pack around on my shoulder. 

"They found him in Venice, doing more trades for Winston. The plan B if Winston ever got caught. They're gonna pay us extra to take him down. That's 10x more than we're gonna get paid for rescuing you. I've also been told you're gonna get paid fully for tracking and reporting, your first mission, but only half for the second one since it technically didn't turn out too well. " He explained.

"I can tell." I said, turning my head to look at him while motioning to my shoulder. 

"Yeah, yeah, I know." He said, moving his hands from his vest to the tail gate. "The guys and I are taking the second mission. It's up to you if you want to go too." He told me as I turned my head to look at my feet. I could feel his gaze shift to look at me for an answer. 

"I don't know. I might be pretty useless for this one. That and Sean knows how to get inside my head already. You'd be better off as considering me compromised already." I admitted as the medics came back. They put my arm in a sling and gave me a heat pack instead of an ice pack. I shifted my right arm to fit into my jacket sleeve and zipped my jacket over the sling. 

"I know. No offense, but I think I'd rather see you go home and heal than take this one." He told me, crossing his arms over his chest. 

"None taken." I hated feeling this useless. My ambitious side was getting bored with my reason and logical side taking control. 

"We leave in half an hour. I'll make sure you have a ride home if that's what you choose." Barney told me before patting me gently on the back and walking over to the truck. I watched as he grabbed a cigar out of his bag in the front seat and light it up. Toll, Yang and Gunner had long disappeared. Caesar was sitting on top of the cab of the truck, eating something out of a can. He gave me a sad look as my pile of stuff was folded and neatly shoved into a bag before being brought of to me. 

I moved my gaze down to my feet once more as the medics came back and cleaned up my face. I brushed some dust and dirt off my legs, but didn't too far with it because that stuff stuck like glue. I wasn't any use in the field with the guys and I doubted they would need me on the outside as a backup security measure. 

Before I knew it, the guys were loading into the truck. Barney and Lee took the front seats, sending me sad looks or a small smile. Gunner, Yang, Caesar and Toll were in the back under the canopy. They did the same as Barney and Lee, sad looks or smiles. No in between. I watched as the truck pulled away from the compound just as some of the army vehicles pulled away as well. The vehicles escorting Winston to a prison were long gone. 

Once the truck was out of sight, a couple silent tears fell from my eyes. I liked kicking ass with them. The best people I worked with in a long time, even if Gunner tried to kill me. I wiped my face with my now clean hand. A soldier said he was going to take me to either the base or a hotel for the night or to where ever I wanted. He took my bag and waited in the Jeep by the entrance of the compound. 

I was stuck deciding whether or not I should tough it out and help the guys or go home. I was leaning more toward the going home option when I remembered something.

Since when do I wimp out of stuff like this? I jumped down from the tail gate and sprinted to the Jeep. I flung open the door and got in the passenger seat. I grabbed a notepad and a pen and wrote down the coordinates I memorized. It was the coordinates to the airbase Barney landed the plane at. 

"We're going here." I told the soldier, handing him the notepad. He gave me a questioning look before giving in and driving away from the compound. 

"Floor it."

**~End of Chapter 7~**

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evie makes split decisions....my bby is gonna get herself hurt why is she doing this...why am I making her do this.

**Evie's POV**

 

As we pulled up to the airbase, I saw the engines start on the plane. I grabbed my bag, thanked the soldier and started running towards the plane. I guess they didn't see me because the plane started taxing towards the runway. I sprinted as fast as my legs could carry me. 

"Hey! Wait!" I screamed, trying to sound louder than the engines. I caught up to the tail of the plane as it sped up. 

"Dammit Barney, stop moving!" I shouted as I tried hitting the plane with my bag to get someones attention. The plane sped up and I was at the door as it swung open to reveal Caesar. 

"Jesus! Your insane!" He shouted as I tossed him my bag. Running with one hand was hard, but he caught my bag and tossed it behind him as the plane sped up more. 

"Give me your hand, woman!" He yelled as he held out his hand. I reached forward as the plane sped up more. I dropped my hand and pumped my arm to go faster and eventually jumped at the door, being caught and pulled in by Caesar. The door shut and pain erupted from my shoulder. 

"You are absolutely crazy!" Toll exclaimed, walking over. I was bent over, trying to catch my breathe. 

"What the hell is going on back there?!" Barney called from the cockpit. Caesar and Toll moved out of the way so He could see me. I smiled and waved with my good had before sitting on the ground, leaning against the wall, on the verge of passing out. 

"I can't believe it." I heard Lee mumbled as Caesar and Toll sat back down and the plane took off. I was pressed against the wall by force as Gunner chuckled at my recklessness. Once I caught my breathe enough, I couldn't help but start laughing, and soon enough, everyone in the back was laughing at the stunt I just pulled. After a few moments, the laughing died down and the plane was level at 25 000 feet in the air. 

"How the hell did you manage to run so fast that you caught a plane?" Lee asked, turning around to face the back. 

"Ambition." I answered, waving my right hand in the air in a rainbow with a smile on my face. All he did was laugh to himself and turn back around. 

 

**-Time Skip-**

 

I eventually took my arm out of  the  sling. It was annoying and starting to get  itchy around my neck. I pulled my long sleeve shirt and my jacket  back  over my tank top and put my  vest  back on over top of those. I sorted through  my bags  and put all  my knives and shit back. The guys were all quiet, Gunner fell asleep and Yang and Caesar were playing chess on the floor. Toll was reading again, so I let him be. I decided to go visit Barney and Lee up in the cockpit. I knelt down in between the two seats as they did up their vests and what not. 

"Are we there yet?" I asked like a little kid  on a road trip, earning head shakes from the two of them. 

"You've got about an hour and a half to sleep, eat or clean guns or what ever. Do what ever you want." Lee answered. 

"But why would I do that, when I can sit here and bug you?" I told him with a devious smile. 

"Choose your words carefully, love. I won't hesitate to dislocate your shoulder again." he warned. 

"What, like you could  have done in Brazil?" I taunted, hearing Barney lose it beside me. Good thing the plane was on autopilot. 

"She's got you there, Christmas." Barney chuckled, trying to control  his laughter. 

"Oh! Burn!" Caesar called from the back. I think Lee is gonna go back to hating me like he did before. And  to think we might be getting on good terms. For shame, for shame. 

"Aww...don't hate me, Lee. I was just bugging you." I told him playfully. 

"Watch it, chicka." he warned once more, this time with a slight grin. We went back to silence for  a bit until it was time to land and I went back to my seat  and buckled in. The plane landed in a small town just outside of Venice, about an hour and a half away. I was handed a bag of something and I carried it with care, since I was not told what was in it. Gunner had another bag like it as we began to walk to  the truck for a half hour drive to the out skirts of Venice where we learned Sean would be. I carried the bag on my good shoulder, my left still stiff and sore. My gun was tucked to my side until I needed it. We walked in a line, Barney leading, Gunner the caboose and everyone else in between- with Lee somewhere in the middle. I kept an  eye  out  to  the  sides, making sure no one snuck  up  on us. I had started to overthink my decision to tag  along, with my shoulder and all. 

I tried not to think of it too much, since I could take  as much time off as I needed after this was over with, if I made it out alive. And instead of overthinking my  injury, I started overthinking about what could happen, between Sean and I. I had no idea what he was capable of besides being a huge creep. What could he do to me? What could he do to the guys? Would we even make it out of this? If he kept this a secret- from everyone, including all the girls he brought home- this long, he probably has some more secrets hidden somewhere. 

"Something the matter?" Gunner asked as he walked beside me. It was then that I realized that I was falling behind and that I had zoned out while thinking. 

"Nope, just thinking," I answered, lifting the bag higher on my shoulder. 

"Want me to carry that for you?" He asked, motioning to the bag. 

"No, I'm good, thanks." I muttered in response, tucking my gun back under my left shoulder. 

"I'm here if you need me." he said before walking up ahead, leaving me to cover the back. I decided not to think about Sean or my injury until after the mission, no matter how much it bothered me. I kept an eye on the  area behind us, often turning around and back pedaling a little bit so I could scan the area with my  tracker before turning back around to follow the group. 

After about 45 minutes, it was getting difficult to carry the bag,  my gun and the tracker at the same time without popping my shoulder out. As I struggled to put my tracker away for the fifth time, I felt the bag get lifted and my arm was pulled away. I turned to see Gunner throw the bag over the same shoulder he was carrying his bag on. 

"I had it under control, you know." I told him, putting away my tracker with ease this time.

"I know you did." He said as he continued walking, but this time he didn't speed up to stay in the line, he stayed back and walked by my side as I shifted my gun so I was ready to shoot. 

"So are we doing a thing where you carry the bags and I shoot anyone who tries to shoot you, or what?" I asked, looking around through the trees and bushes. 

"Sure, if you want." he answered before Barney held up a fist, signalling for us to stop. I knelt down lower to the ground, scanning the underbrush or in case someone decided to open fire, I could hit the floor easier, considering my current condition. 

I waited for any signal from Barney. Gunner had also knelt down beside me, scanning the trees to his right. Eventually, Barney waved us all over as he knelt down to the ground as well. I stood up a bit and walked over, keeping a watchful eye out for anyone looking to shoot us up....or stab us....I don't discriminate. 

As I approached, I saw that down the hill, guards stood watch by a clearing that  led to some sort of base- similar to that of the one we were at about 6-8 hours ago, just without all the tall buildings. This compound had like two story buildings, but probably went underground as well. 

"Evie, how many guards can you see?" Barney asked. I scooted closer to the edge of the hill and dug out my tracker and scanned the  area. 

"It looks like it's pretty evened out. Five or six on the North  and South, four or five on the East and West. Two in the center watch tower and a couple others running around unarmed." I answered, following a vehicle that entered the compound. It stopped and three others got out, not including the driver.

"Three more just entered in a vehicle. Not military and not government." I announced as the vehicle  backed out of the compound and drove back down the road it came down originally. "Vehicle's gone, other three are still inside."  

"Damn, you can see all that through a thermal image?" Toll questioned. I looked up at him and simply nodded. "Damn." He muttered under his breathe. I turned back to the screen to see more people come out  of the watch tower and switch places with everyone on the North, East, South and West walls as well as the two on the tower. 

"Hold up..." I said, watching intently to the people going back into the watch tower. "The watch tower....it's gotta have some sort of elevator or stair case because they just did a shift change. All new guards." I explained. 

"Maybe that's our way in." Gunner suggested. Lee and Barney looked at him, bewildered. 

"Since when you make suggestions like that?" Lee opposed. Gunner just shrugged and I went back to looking at the compound. 

"Gunner's right. That watch tower is our way in. But we can't just go through the front gate." Barney told us. 

"We could zip line in." Yang suggested after not talking for what seemed like a long time. I sucked in a silent breathe, going unnoticed by the others. 

"But that leaves one man out." Toll added in. I knew he was talking about me. 

"I could sit up here. I got perfect view of the whole compound and I have a bigger tracker. I'll be your eyes from the outside. Give me about 20 minutes and a laptop and I could also get the floor plans for every building in that compound." I told them, keeping my small tracker open and pointed at the compound. 

"You sure?" Barney asked, not sure whether or not to leave me here alone. 

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'll hide in a bush over there." I said, pointing at the bush  beside the tree to the right of Caesar. "If all else goes wrong, I'll half-ass attempt to climb a tree." Barney gave me a questioning look, before letting out a sigh. 

"Fine. Toll, give her the computer. The rest of you, get ready. " Barney ordered.  Toll handed me a heavy duty laptop and handed out trackers to the guys. I opened a digital map of our location and the trackers instantly popped up. I opened a separate tab and started typing on codes I had memorized from my time at the CIA. I hacked into a satellite. I turned to speak to Barney when I saw them opening the bags to reveal guns like mine with zip lines...just like mine. 

"So that's what was in the bag." I mumbled in awe. They were a lot better than mine, probably  had better distance too, and silent. 

"Cool, right?" Gunner asked, smiling like a little kid on Christmas day. I had to emphasize the 'day' part because I don't see how a little kid could be so happy while sitting on Lee...that'd  just be weird. 

"Yeah, way better than mine." I mumbled. "But mission is a go. I've got the floor plans for the whole compound." I told them as they hid the bags in the foliage before gathering around the computer. 

"Once you reach the watch tower, you're going to want to take the stairs down to the elevator. That will take you down to the bottom hanger and the bottom hanger only. There are two other hangers, but by the looks of the scans, they haven't been opened or used for a while. Make those your last resort. And if it comes down to that, I'll give you the access codes." I explained as I pointed to different things on the screen. 

"What about the tunnels around the watch tower?" Lee asked, pointing to different tunnels underground. 

"Those are the unused access passages to get to the other buildings. Probably used for evacuation because they lead off in all four directions including under the road. You'll have access to those other buildings through  there. I can't see any guards so be prepared for anything." I finished before they all stood up, readying the zip lines and their weapons. 

"Alright, let's get going. Keep your comms on so we have contact to Evie." Barney instructed before turning to me. "You keep us updated on any one going in or out of the compound." 

"You got it. Good luck." I said, giving them a little salute before they shot the zip lines from a tree in line with the watch tower. I watched as they all silently zipped away, leaving me alone as the sun set rather quickly it seemed. I followed their  trackers, getting out my bigger thermal scanner and keeping an eye out for visitors. Eventually, I moved and sat closer to the tree they had the zip lines on. I waited until I got confirmation that they  had reached the stair case, which came about five minutes after they left. 

~"Team to Evie, over."~ Barney said quietly through the comm. 

"I hear you....and...well, see you...I guess." I said back, following them on both  the floor plan and the thermal. I wouldn't be able to see them on the thermal once they got into the elevator, but I would be able to follow their trackers. 

"You've got three coming up in the elevator." I warned them. I watched the doors open and they took down the three. Nine bodies in one elevator...risky.  The elevator moved slow, mainly because it was old, but the added weight was probably taking it's toll. 

"How's it holding up  in there?" I asked, hoping to get some sort of reaction from the guys. 

"Not helping." was all I got from all of them. I cracked a smile as I continued to follow them as they reached the hanger. I zoomed into the hanger, getting every angle and every other person inside. 

"You have five right in front of the door and about 20 others scattered in the hanger. Walls are sound proof, but still use caution." I advised them as the elevator doors opened and they went crazy on everyone inside. But then things started going wrong. My computer started glitching, like something or someone was blocking it...with something. I rapidly typed in more codes and what  not to hack the system, but someone beat me to it. 

"Guys, I lost connection. I repeat, I've gone dark. You're on your own. There are stairwells from the tunnels to the buildings. Once you get topside, I'll be able to see you on thermal until I get  the system fixed. Someone is may be on to us. Be careful." I warned them. 

"Copy that."

"Got it."

"Understood. Be safe up there." I shut the computer system down and rebooted it, hoping to get something. I managed to get back online and it was only seconds before I found their signals and only a moment to find their location. 

"Gunner! Behind you! 7 o'clock!" I yelled into the comm before the two people coming up behind Gunner went offline. I let out a sigh of relief. 

"Thanks, Evie." He responded before the lines went quiet again. I watched as they split up, Barney leading Toll and Yang going into the East building while Lee lead Caesar and Gunner to the West. 

"Barney, you've got about seven in that room and two more on either side of the door." I warned him as I checked the West building. 

"Lee, you're clear to go. Only person sleeping on a cot in the corner, 2 o'clock." I explained, zooming out a bit and watching as people went offline before the system glitched again and the hard drive in the computer sparked and I threw it away before it could give off a tiny explosion a few feet away from me. 

"Bad news, guys: computer blew up. Someone is definitely onto us. Keep comms open and I'll try to find you on thermal." I told them. No one said anything. I brought up the comm radio. It had the list of comms online at the moment. I kept an eye on that while watching my surroundings and  the thermal. I watched as another vehicle approached and three more people got out, excluding the driver, before it drove away once more. 

"Three more just entered the compound." I said into the comm, getting quite bored of my stationary job. I saw Lee's group split  up. Gunner went back down to the stair well with Caesar while Lee stayed behind. I saw him open some sort of computer. 

"Lee...what are you doing?" I asked, watching intently. 

"Checking the system for files on Winston and this new guy, Sean." he answered before downloading it all onto a hard drive before smashing the computer and following the other two back to the tunnels. Barney's group was already onto the South building by the time I found their heat signatures again. I watched as Gunner and Caesar split up into separate tunnels-just under the surface-, going away from the North building. 

"Gunner, Caesar. Where are you going? Lee, don't continue to North building." I said, Lee had stopped at the cross roads where Gunner and Caesar split up. 

"Just checking out the area. You can still see us right?" Caesar responded. 

"Not for long. Some sort of interference." I answered before my tracking system shut down. I tried turning it back  on, but the screen lit up bright yellow, like a beacon for the enemy. I quickly put it, screen down, on the ground and holding it down with my knee while I dug a hole. I buried the tracker before checking the comm radio. 

"Guys, we're flying blind now. Someone shut down my tracker. They know we're here. It  may be best to blow some stuff up and leave." I told them. 

"Negative. I've got eyes on S-" Gunner started before his comm went out in a high pitched white noise. 

"Gunner, do you copy?" I  asked. I waited for a second before repeating my  question. "Gunner, do you copy?" 

"Doors just  shut to the hallway  he went down. Someone new is watching us." Lee stated before the sound of him kicking something over was heard through out the comm. I remembered a way into that tunnel from above the ground, but that would mean I would have to cut through the metal fence, find the hatch and then  open it without someone seeing me or the hatch blowing up. The comm blew up with questions before dying down when they realized I wasn't talking. 

"Evie, do you copy?" Yang asked. 

"I  have a way to Gunner, but I'm gonna need a diversion on the South-West corner, something to drag  every ones attention away from the North-East corner." I explained. 

"We're on it. Lee, Caesar. Get the hell out of that tunnel and to the North building. Look for more files. Maybe we can find something else." Barney ordered. I grabbed my gun, bolt cutters, and hid our stuff before slowly and quietly making my way down the hill toward the fence. I ducked behind a tree until I was given orders to continue.

"I'm in position. Ready when you are." I stated, peaking around the tree, looking for some sort of distraction. A truck blew up right  before my  eyes as few moments after. 

"Now, Evie! Go!" Barney shouted over the comm and I raced to the  fence and pulled out  the bolt cutters and cut a whole in the fence big enough to fit through. I dropped the cutters and ran towards the hatch. To my surprise, it wasn't armed with  anything on the outside, but it did have a lock. I shot it off, my gunfire drowned out by more gunfire on the other side of the compound. I ripped open the hatch  and climbed down the ladder, closing it behind me. I lit my mini flashlight and held it between my teeth for guidance as I climbed down the ladder, pain firing up in my shoulder again. Once at the bottom, I attached my light to my gun and aimed down the hallway. I heard shouting and the sound of chains coming from down the hallway until a door opened on the right. I quickly shut off my light  and tucked against the wall in a small rack, big enough for me to fit. I saw a beam of light come down the  hall towards me before vanishing and the sound of a door closing. I peaked around the corner and saw a crack of light from under the door. I put my flashlight away and aimed my gun towards the door. I stepped carefully, slowly and low as I approached the door. I knelt down beside the door and peered under the door. Two guards stood watching something in front of  them and they were a good few feet in front of the door that  I might be able to sneak  in. 

I stood up and pulled the  door ever so lightly until it opened. A double swinging door....nice. I stepped in front of the door, closing it silently behind me before kneeling down behind a crate. Crates, barrels and one sea-can were in this tiny room. Light bulbs hung from wires above the opening where Sean stood wearing black dress pants dusted with dirt from the floor and a white dress shirt, the sleeves buttoned up  to his elbows. He stood in front of something, speaking quietly to who ever was in front of him- which I assumed was Gunner. 

I creeped around the rates and  barrels until i was out of sight  of Sean and the  two guards by the  door. To my dismay, gunner was in fact chained to a chair in front of Sean, his face bloody and beaten. Purposeful cuts and slices were made across his chest and arms in an interrogation-style manner.

"What is your team looking for? I will not ask  again." Sean asked. Gunner was slowly fading out of it, his head bobbing up and down as he struggled to make eye contact. I began creeping back  towards the door as Sean ordered one of the men to check the  hallway, but this time, he went all the way out of the room, the door closing behind him. I quickly  jumped, hit the guy and dragged him quietly behind a crate before slitting his throat with my  knife and dragging him further away. Sean had his back turned to the door, organizing some sort of tools on a table. I needed to act fast if I was gonna save Gunner from any more harm. 

I waited for the second guy to come in before I did the same as I did to the first guy.

"I don't like to have to get my  hands dirty, you know? The blood and flesh gets  under the nails and in the cracks of your skin and it takes a while to get  washed off if it stains and that's not good when you're trying to impress the ladies, right?" Sean spoke to Gunner. Sounded like he was trying to converse in 'locker-room talk'. Gross.   

"Sure, what ever you say." Gunner grumbled before coughing and spitting blood out in front of him, clearly not amused. Sean turned to him, a pair of pliers in one hand  and the other rested on his hip. 

"You know, I'm trying to be friendly. A little chit-chat, one on one, man to man, but you keep ruining it!" Sean exclaimed, his face turning red with anger. He took a swing and socked Gunner right in the mouth. He kept his held tilted and his gaze landed on me peering out in between two crates. I sent a wink in his direction, earning a chuckle before he coughed and spit out more blood. I ran behind more barrels before reaching a ladder that led to a second floor balcony level. It was a good distance up and I would be able to swing on some rope that was tied up on a rail on a third level balcony. The room we were on wasn't big in circumference, but it was rather high, with the third level balcony leading to a ladder- presumably- that  led to the ground. 

"You think this is a joke now, don't you?" Sean asked, getting angry. Gunner shook his head while still laughing. I grabbed the rope and  checked it's stability before waiting by the rail. 

"Well, then, what is it?!" Sean yelled, the pliers still in his hand. Gunner laughed even more and I took that as my  queue to climb the rail. I steadied myself on the top, the rope tight in my  hands. 

"You'll see......asshole." With that, I jumped straight down, the rope only going so far. I swung just above Gunner's head and kicked Sean right in the stomach, sending him flying into the sea-can. The rope gave way and I was sent flying into the same sea-can. I hit with my right side, but fell onto my left. 

"Goddammit! Mother fucker!" I cursed as I rolled onto my back. Sean was starting to get up so i put my pain- and possible re-dislocated shoulder- behind me and got up to fight, my gun by the  door. 

"You." he growled, standing up facing me. 

"Me!" I growled back before deeking to one side, causing him to go forward, giving me an opportunity to spin and kick him in the back of the head. My balance was a bit off, but I didn't fall over. Sean was down so I took the time to run over to Gunner, who was tied to the  chair. I looked for  the end of the chain, but Sean had them soldered together. 

"I  had it under control." Gunner told me. I stood up, noticing Sean getting back up. 

"I know you did." I said, patting him on the shoulder and running at Sean. I jumped and wrapped my  legs around his neck, taking him back  down. We rolled and I ended up on top, with his arm pulled back in an arm lock. he cried out in pain every time I pulled his arm farther back until I got bored and gave his arm a big yank, ripping it from the socket. He screamed in agony as I let go. I stood up and ran over to the tray of tools to find more bolt cutters. I picked them up and went over to Gunner who looked at me questioningly. I began cutting the chains in random spots, hoping they would just fall off. 

Eventually, I got them off and I was able to drop the bolt cutters and help Gunner up. He was a bit wobbly since he had taken a few good hits to the head. I wrapped one of his arms over my shoulders and wrapped my right arm around his waist as support. We turned to leave when I saw Sean take a knife to a barrel and brown liquid spill out. I paused when he pulled a lighter out. 

"You wanna take a guess as to what is in these barrels?" Sean taunted, his arm hanging limp at his side as he held his other hand over the barrel. 

"Gun. Tucked into my belt. Dead center." I whispered loud enough only Gunner could hear me. I felt his arm drop as he either pretended to fall to his knees or really did because of dizziness. I bent my knees to keep at a low level that wouldn't seem suspicious. To Sean, it seemed as if I was still helping Gunner stay up right. I felt his hand trail down my back until it landed on the gun. 

"Go on, Evie. Take a guess." Sean taunted once more. 

"Sean....you've got one chance. Put the lighter away, and maybe you won't get anymore hurt than you already are." I tried to negotiate. 

"And why would I do that. The second I land in a prison, someone's gonna wanna kill me. Why not do it now, on my own terms." he said, his grip on the lighter loosening. I felt Gunner wrap his hand around the gun, slowly pulling it  out from my belt. I bent my knees a little more, ready to jump for the lighter if it dropped. 

"What are you waiting for? You gonna make another move? Maybe rip out my other arm. Or perhaps snapping a leg would suit you more." Sean continued before Gunner cocked the gun and shot at him, twice in the gut, once in the heart. I jumped and ran for the lighter, grabbing it before it could hit the floor. I closed the lid on the lighter before I crashed into the barrels. The first barrel was empty by the time I  had hit  it, so I wasn't completely covered on what ever fuel was inside. 

I stood up and glanced at Sean. Yep, dead. I threw the lighter on top of his body before more pain set into my left shoulder. Gunner, by now, was laying on the ground. He looked dead. I walked back over to him and grabbed the collar of his shirt with my right hand and hauled him to his feet. He leaned into me for support as I wrapped my arm around his waist once more for support. I noticed my comm was gone, so I couldn't contact the others. I decided to forget about it and half-hauled Gunner towards the door. I grabbed my gun on the way out before grabbing my flashlight no matter how much my left arm hurt. 

We made it to the ladder I climbed down to get here and thought about how we were gonna get up there. 

"You think you an make it?" I asked him, pointing my light the ladder. The hatch just barely visible. 

"Maybe," He groaned, coughing once more and once again spitting out more blood. I gave him a disgusted look, even though  he probably couldn't see it. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw dancing lights come from the room. Sean wasn't dead. he still managed to set the  fire. 

"Time to go." I said, pushing Gunner towards the ladder. It was gonna hurt really bad if he passed out mid-climb and fell. We'd both  be dead after that. As he started to climb, I saw a figure crawl from the room, the flames getting bigger. 

"You missed my  heart!!" Sean shouted. I saw his outline so I grabbed my gun, aimed at him and went rapid fire until I saw his silhouette fall to the side. I let my gun hand behind my back as I pointed my light back up the ladder. Gunner had gotten about half way up. I held the light in between my teeth as I grabbed the ladder with my right arm and hauled myself up, only using my left for balance. 

"Light!" Gunner called from the top of the ladder. I tilted my head up and to the right as he pushed open the hatch once more. I watched as he climbed out  of the hatch and I started climbing again. 

Once I reached  the top, I saw he had given up on standing and laid on the ground. Fire and dead bodies were scattered in the compound which  makes me wonder how long we were down there for. I pulled myself onto solid ground before hauling Gunner to his feet once more and hauling in to the watch tower, that was covered in blood and on fire. 

"Barney! Caesar! Anyone!" I called as loud as I could before coughing the smoke out of my lungs. Gunner felt heavier than usual as I saw he was starting to fade out of consciousness. 

"Come on, Gunner. We gotta get out of here. Then you can pass out if you want." I told him, earning a low grumble in response. I dragged him to the front gate of the compound when a soldier sat up from a pile of bodies. I panicked for a second before he was shot down again. I looked around for the shooter when Barney walked out from behind a burned vehicle. 

"Where the hell did your comm go!" He yelled, obviously mad at me exclusively. 

"I-uh..it...uh..." I stuttered before Gunner spoke up. 

"She saved my ass. That's all that matters. Let's get out of here." I nodded in agreement before hauling Gunner towards Barney, until he eventually helped which took some of the weight off my shoulders, quite literally. 

Lee had brought a truck to the front of the gate and Barney helped me get Gunner into the back before helping me into the back as well before taking a seat in the passenger seat. Lee went peddle to the metal until we got back  to the plane. 

All I wanted at to sleep, but we had to organize our stuff into the plane. My arm was probably hanging by the time we took off. Yang and Toll took care of Gunner and his injuries while Caesar helped me with mine, which included popping my shoulder back  into place and me cursing some stuff that doesn't need to be repeated.

In the  end, I used my  long sleeve shirt, my jacket  and my empty backpack as a pillow and laid out on the floor, not risking falling off then  bench if we hit  turbulence again. I shut my  eyes and listened to the sound of the engines. It wasn't exactly soothing, but it distracted me from the pain. Time passed and I felt like I was just about to fall asleep until someone lightly kicked my leg. I opened my left eye to see Lee standing there. 

"Barney wants to talk to you." He told me as he  held out  a hand. I gratefully took it and he hauled me up by my good arm before wrapping a blanket around my shoulders. I held two corners together with my right hand. 

"Thanks." I muttered before walking to the cockpit. I stopped at the seats. "You summoned me." I greeted sarcastically. 

"Sit down. We need to talk." He said, his knuckles turning white from gripping the  steering wheel too hard. Oh boy. I sat down in the co-pilot seat, pulling the blanket around my arms to keep warm. Barney pressed a button on the console and a sliding door shut behind us. 

"What the hell happened down in that tunnel? And where the hell did your comm go?!" he asked, obviously still pissed about earlier. 

"It was three on one. I  had to take two guards out without Sean knowing. He had Gunner chained to a chair. Comm must  have fallen when I jumped down and swung into Sean, alright. Stop getting pissy with me." I answered, immediately regretting using attitude because it made Barney's attitude worse. He stayed silent for a few seconds. 

"Comm's don't just fall out  of your ear." he stated. 

"Yeah, well, computers don't just explode like normal, ok. It was a mistake. But, hey, we're all still alive right? Gunner and I seem to be the only people with injuries after this mission." I argued. 

"Which you're going to take  care of when  you get home and not do anything stupid." Barney inquired. 

"Yeah, ok, I will. I was going to anyway." I said, sitting back in the seat. "At least I'll have some peace and quiet while I'm at it....now that Sean isn't around anymore." I added, not sure what  else to say. Barney's angry mood seemed to be settling down a little  bit. 

"You make a true point." He muttered, staring straight  ahead until he put the auto pilot on. And then  nothing but  silence as he lit another cigar. 

"I didn't call  you over just to yell at you, I hope you know that." he admitted. 

"Well, then  what did you call me over for?" I asked, looking down at my bruising hand. From what, I  had no clue. 

"I have a business proposition for you," he started. 

"Sean told me that once." I interrupted, rubbing my hand until  it hurt.

"This one's different," he started. 

"How so?" I  interrupted once more, earning a glare from Barney, to which I returned a smile. 

"A possible position on a team. Someone told me you like working alone, but...we could use someone like  you on the team. You're smaller than the rest of us, you can hide in places no one else can. You're faster, swifter and probably  have a lot of experience with this field of work. You're better than  the other people who  have tried to be recruited." Barney explained.

"Are you asking me to join the Expendables?" I asked, half knowing what  he was saying and half not knowing if  he was serious.

"Yes, yes I am." He answered. "So what do  you say? Wanna give a team a chance?" I gave it some thought. Working alone has it's downfalls like earlier when  I was stuck in a building alone, but working alone also means no distractions from your part or any others that could get the team killed. But working on a team means you have back up all the time...which would come in handy for times like before....when I was stuck in a building alone. 

"Sure...why not." I told him with  a smile. Working with a team could be in my  best interest or be my  doom. 

"Well then,...welcome to the team." Barney said before shaking my hand, the one that  wasn't bruising. 

 

**~End of Chapter 8~**

 

 

 

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're wondering, the playlist is kind of from the Guardians of The Galaxy soundtracks but the movies weren't out yet so it's just the original songs, plus some. It's my playlist from my google play.

**Evie's POV**

 

Once we landed back at home, my old employer met us there, gave me my pay and paid the  others as well. While the guys all had bikes to get home, my employer gave me a ride to the general area of my home. I had one rule, and that was never give an employer your address. After he dropped me off, I walked about an hour back until I got home, only to see some young fellas vandalizing Sean's house. I had an light bulb moment and ran inside. I threw my bags onto the floor and ran to my room and got this paintball gun and all it's paint balls out of my closet. I had no idea why I had it or when I got it, but I knew this would be a good way to get rid of it. I ran back outside towards the guys destroying Sean's property. 

"Hey! Do you guys know the owner of this place?" I asked. 

"Yeah, he's a little man-whore that owes us money." one answered.

"Yeah, A lot of money." another followed. 

"I'll make you a deal. $60 for the gun, $10 for all the paint _and_ I don't call the cops." I told them with a devious smile. They all exchanged glances before one nodded to another, who then got out his wallet. He gave me the $70 and I gave him the gun before shaking hands. 

"Have fun." I said before walking back to my house and locking all the doors again. I put the cash in my wallet and went to unpacking. I got out a laundry basket which was already somewhat full before throwing my jacket and long sleeve in the pile. I decided to unlock my back garage so in case I needed anything from there, I could have easy access. After I was done that, I went back inside and took a shower, throwing my clothes in the laundry basket and walking around my house in a towel to start laundry. Once it was started, I grabbed clean under garments, a pair of black sweatpants and a black long sleeve shirt. I changed and wrapped my hair into a towel hat and looked for food. I ended  up making a package of those Knorr sidekicks because I just had one laying around with nothing else...??? It was that Bacon Carbonara or what ever flavor and I ended up eating about 2/3 of it before packing the rest into a little container for dinner or something tonight. 

When I was done, I cleaned up my mess and went back into the bathroom, letting my hair down from the towel and dried it a bit before ripping out long, single strands of hair. My long ass hair was getting really annoying, in both normal life and work life. When I'm fighting, any enemy could grab my  hair when it's this long and use it against me. I also hated finding really long strands of wavy hair everywhere when I shed (not really but still). And then I had another light bulb moment. 

I immediately ran around, grabbing my keys and wallet before running out to my car. 

 

**-TimeSkip- because I can't write speedy car trips-**

 

I made a quick trip around my area looking for a drug store until I found one. I pulled a really shitty parking job, taking up three spots, before running inside and grabbing a new straightener, red hair dye and hair scissors. I paid and ran back out to my car before speeding home and parking in the front garage. Darcy was in need of a visit, so I planned on leaving tomorrow to surprise her, hence the reason I parked there. 

Once I was back inside, I connected my Sony Walkman to my  sound system and put on a classical playlist, complete with  songs from Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Queen, Elvin Bishop, Blue Swede and Billy Joel. My doors were locked, my  music was on, my shoulder didn't hurt; life was good. The only thing that could make it better was a drink. I learned about a thing in town where you could order a bottle or case of liquor and they'd bring it to you. I was skeptical  at first when I heard it, but now that I've got nothing to do, I could give it a try. I found the card with their number on it and dialed up on my personal cell. 

~"Dial-Up Liquor. Danny speaking."~

"Hi, I'd like to place an order." I stated awkwardly. How else would I say it. 

~"Pick your poison."~

"I'll get a bottle of Jack Daniels and a case of Heineken, bottled, please." 

~"Delivery or pick up and can I get a name please."~

"Delivery and  Evie." I gave him my address and he told me the total which almost killed me. Alcohol is so expensive. After the order was put through, I hung up and  went back to  my  bathroom and plugged in my straightener. While it was heating, I parted my  hair into sections, brushing it out  thoroughly each time. Once the  straightener was heated, I carefully pulled it through my  hair, trying not to burn myself. 

With my hair not fully straightened, I picked up the scissors and cut a few inches off the bottom at  first until the doorbell rang. I  set the scissors down and left the  bathroom, rushing the get my wallet before answering the  door. It was a quick transaction with little to no words exchanged. He got the money, I got my alcohol. I locked the door behind me as I left the case of Heineken in the living room and brought the bottle of Jack to the  kitchen where I cracked open the bottle along with a can of Pepsi cherry and combined the two  over ice. I brought my drink to  the bathroom and set it on the closed toilet seat so it didn't get  hair in it. I picked up  the scissors once more and cut more off just below my shoulders in a straight line. I  had no idea what I was doing, but I definitely could try. If it didn't turn out well, I'd just go to the hair dressers to fix it. 

I analyzed my work until I figure it just wasn't enough, so I cut off more until it was about an inch above my shoulders. When my hair gets wavy again, it would be about two or three inches off my shoulder so I was good. Now time for the fun part; hair coloring. I knew how to get blood stains off hands and dye was no different so I wasn't concerned with gloves or anything. I had a small plastic container I didn't use or need anymore and what good do brushes even do. In my opinion, just use your hands. I scooped some dye  up in two fingers and started rubbing it into the  ends of my  hair pretty thick but pulled it up higher onto the strands of hair, ultimately making the  color dimmer the farther up it went towards my scalp. Sort  of like the ~ _Ombre Affect~_ if you will. With the ends of my  hair thickly coated in red dye, I couldn't do much besides pull a towel over  my shoulders and pin it  together in front of me and walk around like I'm wearing some sort of cape or robe. I cleaned up my bathroom, wiping off any dye on my counter and flushing my hair down the drain or into the bin. New tattoo, new hair. Darcy's going to flip out when she's sees me. 

While my hair was mixing with  the dye, I decided to make something for dinner, but I was in desperate need of a trip to the grocery store. I had mostly frozen quick  meals, but I ended up cooking two BBQ pork steam buns to go with the rest of my noodles that were in the fridge. BBQ pork steam buns are amazing and I love them, but probably not the best thing to be eating for dinner, but who cares. I'm an adult and can make my own decisions. Besides, I'm here for a good time, not a long time. 

 

**TimeSkip**

 

After I had my dinner, I washed up the kitchen a bit and cleaned my dishes before going back to my bathroom. I detached the shower head from it's holder and turned on the water, the towel still draped over my shoulders to keep my shirt from getting wet because I was too lazy to change. I rinsed the dye from my hair thoroughly until I knew there was nothing left in it. With pristine skill and concentration, I moved the towel from my shoulders up to my head and wrapped my hair tightly into the towel to dry until I could stand up. With the shower head hanging loosely next to the tub tap, I stood up, holding the towel in place. I tilted my head back as I removed the towel and ran it through my short hair. I hand dried my  hair as the waves started to come back before running a fine tooth comb through my hair to get rid of all the knots and tangles I got from drying it. Once satisfied, I hung the towel up on the edge of the door and cleaning up the bath room a bit before leaving. By now it was around 6:40 and I had nothing to do. So, sitting on my bed, staring at a wall, I thought of what I could do to pass time until I could go to bed with out waking up to early. I was leaving tomorrow and heading to Darcy's small apartment back home, but my  house also hasn't been cleaned in a while. 

So to begin my journey of boredom buster, I began packing. I didn't know whether or not to bring my bike or my car. Knowing Darcy, she'll probably want to go shopping at some point while I visit, so car was probably best. It would only take about 10, maybe 11 hours at least to get back to my home town of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Darcy lived in Oklahoma City now, but I decided to visit my parents while I'm at it, seeing how the only word they've heard from me about me was from relayed messages through Darcy. I figured it would be nice to see them for the first time in about two or three years. 

Aside from my sad backstory, I planned what I was going to pack. Jeans for the most part, plain shirts, the required amount of underwear and bras along with socks of many kinds. I packed a dress and nice flats for when I visit my parents. My mother has always been a simple woman and my dad as well so I always had a nice and simple blue dress hanging in my closet. I had a belt that went with it; white with a gold buckle and a black over shirt thing. I don't even thing you could call it a shirt, it covered your shoulders and your upper arm and stopped at your elbow. Fashionably useless. I zipped my dress, the belt and the 'shirt' into one of those plastic dress protectors, folded it half and threw it in my suit case. I grabbed a smaller suitcase that was more of a carry on you would take on a plane, and put my flats, grey with black trimmed Vans and my moccasins inside. After that, I packed bathroom essentials, but left the bag out on the counter so I could still use them before declaring that I was done packing. In total, I would have  one large suit case, one small suit case and my draw string bag for my wallet, phone, keys and what ever else when we go shopping. I pack light  for the most part, but a also brought another small suit case for what ever I decide to buy while I'll be there.

After packing, I vacuumed the house, mopped the floors and cleaned the bathrooms and my office before settling down to watch a movie. I cuddled up on my couch with a bowl of freshly popped popcorn, a twin sized blanket that was a burgundy color on top and creme colored on the bottom. The bottom even had gold stars everywhere. It was perfect for cuddling on the couch by myself. I poured myself another drink like the one I had before, just a little bit more alcohol to put me to sleep faster. I put on a movie from my classical movie selection called _Harts War_. It was on older World War II movie about some American troops stuck in a German camp. I finished that movie but was still awake enough that I made myself another drink and put on another movie called _Street Fighter_ with Jean Claude Van Damm. Another war movie except it was in present day (present day as in present to the year it was made which was like mid 90's) and they were fighting a crazy dictator obsessed with starting a new world under his control. 

About half way through, I was starting to feel tired. I grabbed a pillow and tucked it under my head as the fight scene came on. As much as I tried to keep my eyes open, I couldn't. I didn't even have enough energy to shut off my TV. 

**~The Next Morning~**

 I woke up with a sore neck and stiff limbs. Sleeping on my couch is never a good thing when the morning comes. I threw the blanket off me and sat up, moving my legs with my hands until my feet touched the cold floor. My TV shut itself off some time last night, but the movie player was still on. I grabbed the remote and switched it off before standing up and folding the blanket. I walked to put it in the closet when a knock at the door interrupted me. I tossed the blanket onto my bed and glanced in the mirror to see if I was worthy of being seen by other humans before looking out the window. It was a neatly dressed man, probably in his 30's with a brief case. I jogged to the door and unlocked it before opening it just a crack. 

"Good morning, my name is Phillip Johnson, I'm with the CIA. Church said you knew your next door neighbor, Sean, quiet well. Mind if I ask you a few questions?" he introduced. 

"I didn't know him, but he sure as hell wanted to know a lot about me. He was creepy and invasive of privacy. And I'm pretty sure Church would let me know if someone asked about me. So yes, I do mind if you ask a few questions. Now if you'd excuse me, I have a long few days of traveling starting today. Good day, sir." I said, closing and locking the door behind me before shutting any blinds in the house. I hate people. I told myself to forget about the man at my door and hopped in the shower and cleaned myself. After my shower, I wrapped myself  in a towel and made sure I had everything in my suit case, plus some. Once I had everything packed, I set aside my suit case and grabbed my last  set of clothes I was going to wear today and set aside another pair of clothes I was going to keep in a separate bag for traveling. I took the towel around my body and wrapped it around my head while I got dressed; jeans and a t-shirt. That's just how I roll. 

I dried my hair and was surprised when I hadn't drained it of all the color. I brushed it and threw it up in a tiny ponytail/man-bun thing. Short hair is awesome. Way better than long hair. 

I did my usual makeup; eyeliner, mascara and eyebrows. I packed my makeup and all my bathroom essentials into a small bag and threw it in my suitcase. I decided to wear my grey Vans so I put my Converse and boots in my suit case as well. You really never know when your gonna need your boots. After I was finished packing, I dragged my suitcase to my car and plopped it in the trunk and threw my smaller bag and my bathroom bag in my backseat. I went back inside and made sure my windows and doors throughout the house and my back garage were shut and locked before grabbing my shoulder bag with my phone, wallet, keys and anything else I needed before locking the door to my front garage and opening the garage door. I grabbed the garage door opener from the work bench I never use and went to my car. I clipped the garage door opener to the flap above my head and started my car. I set my shoulder bag in the passenger seat and got out my Walkman and plugged it into the auxiliary cord in my radio and put on the same playlist I had on when I dyed my hair. I drove out of my garage, shut the garage door and drove away from my house. I needed gas so I stopped at the gas station closest to the highway turn off I needed and filled up the tank. It wasn't a pre-pay pump so I went inside and grabbed a bottle of water, a Monster Energy drink and what ever snacks  I felt like having. I paid for everything and left for my journey to Darcy's. And let me tell you, it was a long one. 

You'd think now that we have these advanced cars and what not that people would learn to drive a bit safer, but noooo, we can't have any nice things. Constantly, traffic was either slowed or stopped because some idiot missed his turn or cut some people off. And after 10 1/2 hours of agonizingly slow driving and road rage, I finally arrived in Oklahoma City. I knew where Darcy's place was so I drove there right away. I parked in the underground parking, but in the guests area because they have that at here apartment complex that took up like two blocks. I grabbed my shoulder bag and the slip of paper that had her apartment number on it and went inside. And just my luck, the elevator was under service but I needed to work out so I took the stairs up to the top floor where Darcy's apartment was. I quietly stepped down the halls until I got to her door. I knocked on the door and heard foot steps coming closer from the other side until the door was opened and a tall dude stood there with a confused face on his face. 

"Is this Darcy Roberts' place?" I asked politely. His confused expression turned to surprise. 

"Yes it is. You must be her sister. I'm her roommate, Ryan. " He said, extending his hand. I shook his hand and he let me in. 

"Darcy's just getting out of the shower. She's off to dinner with your parents. Make yourself at home. I gotta go off to work. It was nice to meet you. " he said grabbing a book bag and his phone and wallet off the counter. 

"Yeah, it was nice to meet you too." I said back. Ryan waved goodbye and left. I sat down on the couch and fiddled with my hair until I heard a door open and a toweled up Darcy walked out. 

"Ryan, did you leave yet?!" She called out as she entered the kitchen. 

"Yeah, he did. " I stated and she spun around with a look of horror and surprise until she realized it was just me. 

"Jesus, Evie. You scared the shit out of me. What the hell are you doing here?" She said jumping at me for a hug. Except I couldn't stand up first. 

"I thought I'd come visit consider I haven't seen you in so many years." I told her as she sat down beside me after we parted from our hug. 

"Well you're just in time. I'm going to mom and dads for dinner tonight." She told me. 

"That's what your roommate said." I stated. Her face expression changed to something I couldn't render.

"Sure, if that's what you wanna call him." She said, a sly smile creeping onto her face. Images I didn't want in my mind, danced across my thoughts. 

"Darcy! Nasty!" I screamed as I buried my face in a pillow. 

"I'm kidding! He's just a friend. There's nothing going on!" she laughed as I removed the pillow from my face. 

"You better be. " I threatened as I sat up straight like I was before. 

"So, you coming to mom and dads with me or not?" she said, holding onto the top of her towel and standing up. 

"I guess, but I have to get my stuff from my car." I told her, standing up as well. 

"Oh don't worry about it. We have that kinda service here. You still got that Chevelle?" She asked, walking towards the phone. 

"Yeah." She dialed a number and spoke with someone on the phone and left to get ready again. When a knock on the door sounded through the apartment, She came back out with clothes on and took my car keys from me and handed them to a guy dressed in uniform fitting for a hotel. The guy left and she closed the door. 

"People living on the top three floors get a service where someone from the apartment company will go get your stuff from your car it's totally helpful. Especially when I'm feeling lazy." she said, going back into her bathroom. I followed her in for the sake of boredom and sat on the toilet and watched as she carefully drew on perfect eyeliner, complete with little wings, on top of white eye shadow. A look we've had since we were teens. 

"You should let me do your make up." She added, slowly applying mascara to her lashes. 

"Maybe, if you don't make me look like a clown." I told her, remembering the time she was doing my makeup for my high school prom. Complete with blue and purple eye shadow, eyeliner wings at least an inch long and bright red lipstick. I didn't go to prom like that, but I didn't need lipstick that night since the red lipstick stained my lips. 

"I won't. I'll just make us match." She said smiling. I signed and stole a make up wipe and took off the mascara and concealer I had on previously. I sat still as she worked her cosmetic magic to make my face look less like a monkeys ass. About halfway through, doing the eyeliner, the guy came back up with my bags. Darcy left them in the living room and came back to finish. I put on my own mascara because I didn't feel like getting stabbed in the eye more times than I'd have to. I let Darcy fill in my eyebrows, but I did my face makeup because she was more tanned than I was and I had to use my own makeup. Once I was done, I grabbed my dress clothes out of my suit case and changed in the kitchen because why not. Darcy came out wearing similar clothes to mine. but instead of blue, her dress was a pretty green and didn't have the over shirt. I decided to ditch the over shirt because it was pointless. I slipped on my flats and Darcy lent me a smaller purse to hold my phone, wallet and keys. Darcy curled my hair a little bit, talking about how she missed my long hair, but how my new short hair was more convenient and easier to curl. 

 After my hair was curled, Darcy grabbed her bag and I grabbed mine and we left her apartment. We took the stairs down to the lobby where they were still working on the elevator.

"So, who's car are we taking?" I asked as we strolled to the underground parking. 

"Let's take yours. I think it'll give mom and dad a surprise." Darcy answered as we made our way to the guest parking. We found my car and I unlocked the doors before my phone started to ring. I grabbed in out of my bag and saw the caller ID: _Gunner_.  

"Hello..." I answered, confused. Gunner would never call me on his own. 

 **"Hey, did a CIA agent come to your door a few days ago?"** he asked. 

"Yeah and I shut the door in his face. Why?" I answered as I got in the drivers seat. 

 **"Was his name Phillip Johnson?"** Gunner asked again. Since when did he ever talk this much? 

"Yes, that was the guy. Why?" I asked once more as I started my car. I put the call on speaker and gave Darcy a signal to stay quiet as I backed out of my parking spot and started driving towards Tulsa. 

 **"Well, he's been scoping out the shop. You know, Tool's shop. That was until Barney interrogated him and and then as of yesterday, he showed up dead. The cops have been asking  us questions all day and night. They've been all over Tool's shop. They're just looking for you to ask a few questions."** He explained. Darcy gave me a confused look. 

"Well, when they ask any of you where I am, just say I'm out of town for a few days and by the time they find me, I'd have changed my name and left the country." I said jokingly. 

 **"I wouldn't be surprised if you did. When should we expect you  back?"** he asked. To which, I didn't know the answer to. 

"Honestly, I don't know. I might be here a while. Visiting family and stuff like that. Maybe in a week or so. Why, do we got a new job or do you miss me that much?" I asked, sarcastically. I heard him scoff which earned a laugh from Darcy. 

 **"Guess you'll find out when you get home. Just beware of those sneaky CIA agents."** he told me. 

"Don't worry about me. I'll talk to you guys when I get home." I said, making sure my phone didn't fall out of the little divet in he slight armrest in the door. 

"OK, cool. See ya later." He said before hanging up. I put my phone away and kept driving. 

"So, who was that?" Darcy asked, with a sly grin. 

"A friend from work." I answered with no words to follow. 

"Alright. Off to mom and dads then." 

 

~End of Chapter 9~

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Playlist:
> 
> Piano Man- Billy Joel  
> Cold As Ice- Foreigner  
> I'm gonna be (500 miles)- Proclaimers  
> Mr. Blue Sky- Electric Light Orchestra  
> Wham Bang Shang-a-lang- Silver  
> Father and Son- Cat Stevens  
> Lakeshore Drive- Aliotta Haynes Jeremiah  
> Fox On The Run- Sweet  
> O-O-H Child- The Five Stairsteps  
> Fooled Around and Fell In Love- Elvin Bishop  
> Come and Get Your Love- Redbone  
> I Want You Back- The Jackson 5  
> Spirit In The Sky- Norman Greenbaum  
> Moonage Daydream- David Bowie  
> Ain't No Mountain High Enough- Marvin Gaye  
> My Sweet Lord- George Harrison  
> With A Little Help From My Friends- Joe Cocker  
> Band On The Run- Paul McCartney and Wings  
> Hooked On A Feeling- Blue Swede


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Awkward family reunions anyone?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't know if I mentioned Evie's full name before this, but what's in this chapter is her real name.  
> I also don't know if I mentioned Sean's last name or not and I'm too lazy to go through all 10 chapters to find out if I didn't or not (lazy writing, I know) so what's in this chapter is the realio dealio.

**Evie's POV**

 

Once we arrived at our parents house, it was around 5:30, just in time for dinner. I parked in front of their house, careful not to block the long drive way to the backyard with my car. Darcy got out first, bouncing around on the sidewalk with her feet not leaving the ground. She's always happy to go to our parents house and was always hyped to go the grandparents almost every weekend and summer. Typical American family? Yeah, that's us. I mean, normally, there's the black sheep in the family- someone who strays away from the norms of the family a little bit-, the good child that loves to go visit the family all the time and the good ol' American parents where the mom cleans up while the dad sits and chats while drinking beer or sweet tea. My family was too much like that. But, you can't choose your family. If you could it would be mass hysteria 24/7. 

I slowly got out of my car and locked the doors behind me. I stood on the side walk next to Darcy and just sighed. I remembered the day I left with Church. My parents and I hadn't spoken face to face since then or even over the phone. I would talk to Darcy and no doubt she would relay any new things to them. Darcy was the good kid of the family. Everyone's favorite. I'm pretty sure I was disowned after I left. I mean, to me it was no big deal, but to them  it was like the end of the world. _Oh no! Evilynn-Rose Larissa Roberts wants to be her own person! What ever shall we do!_ Well for starters we can stop calling me by my full name. I remember the argument I had with my parents over my name when I was 15. They thought calling me Evie was sinful to the family name. Like, what are we? The royals? No! We're Americans!

By the time I was out of my little world, Darcy had already ran to the door as my parents greeted her with hugs as I slowly walked up behind. 

"And Evilynn-Rose. We haven't seen you in a while." My mother said with a forced smile. 

"Hi, ma." I said softly, hoping she wouldn't forcefully smile at me the whole night. 

"It's good to see you in one piece. We all thought you had been chopped up shortly before you left. Come inside, both of you, we got dinner almost ready." my father greeted. He'd always been a little more supportive of my actions, but when it came to the mercenary stuff...it might have ticked him off. 

"Oh, yes. We've made your favorite, BBQ Chicken Penne with whiskey fettuccine sauce." My mother told us, getting excited. Blegh! I don't know why Darcy eats this shit all the time. Is she trying to impress them or does she actually like it. And who even adds whisky to fettuccine sauce!? How do you even add whisky to fettuccine sauce!? 

All things aside, I think our mutual hate has worn off a little bit, because usually, I'd be getting glared at for miles. My parents only ever had hardwood or tile floors except for the in the bedroom where that weird 80's carpet that's a plain creme color and seems to never get dirty, but is actually filthy, so when we walked inside, we didn't take our shoes off. I think this is only an American thing because I've been to peoples houses in Canada and practically all over the world and they all took their shoes off at the door, not matter how dirty the floor is. Or maybe this is just my family being weird. My mom is one for being fashionable all the time. Something to do with a thing back in the 40's, 50's, 60's and what not where the woman stayed home, cooking and cleaning, while the husband worked and every day before the husband got home, she would make herself look presentable for him. I honestly think it's stupid. Always having to look good for a man like my mom does for my dad. What does either of them get out of it. We all know they're too lazy to take each other to the  bedroom so why bother. I guess that's just me. 

"So, Evilynn, how have you been?" My mother asked me, handing me a drinking mason jar filled almost to the brim of sweet tea. 

"I've been fine. Thank you. How have you two been doing?" I answered, being sure not to talk too loud or too soft or else both of them get mad at me. Again, it's a perfectionist problem  of theirs. 

"We've been fine, thank you. Both of our retirement plans have been certified so both of us could retire any day now. Your father has been working enough to finish off the savings for our big trip and after that, both of us are done." She answered, turning back to the stove top, Darcy and my father sitting in the reclining chairs in the living room talking like usual. Did I mention my parents are older than most parents usually are? They waited a long time to have kids and now they're retiring at their  mid-50's. Yikes. 

"Where are you going?" I asked, hoping to keep a civil conversation going. Although, I need to watch my words because anything related to me while we're talking about my mom would set her off like a firecracker. 

"Greece. We plan on spending three weeks there, touring around the different ancient cities and what not. Touristy stuff. And then once we come home, we're selling some stuff from your fathers garage and then its sweet retirement." she explained. She seemed happy about it. Like she never really got to talk about it. "And what's new with you. Found a boy yet?" The obvious question.

"No, not yet. Just me still. I bought a house instead of living in the apartment I had. Its small, but it's got lots of space for my vehicles." I told her with the same excitement she had about Greece. 

"Vehicles? I thought you only had the car?" she questioned. Oh no. I might be in trouble here. 

"Yeah, I bought a motorcycle. I don't drive it anywhere important and mainly just for show. Give me something to work on when I'm not working." Phew, good cover up. 

"You be careful with bikes. Those things are deadly." She said with  heavy disapproval laced in her voice. But then her expression changed. "That reminds me. Your father has some tools and what not in the garage. Maybe you'd like to take them home with you. Add to your collection that I assume you've started." Ah, yes. Another cliche part of my family. Trophies. If it's not the wife, it's the tools or the guns. Depends on which side of the family you want to talk about. 

"I've got a small thing going. Nothing major. Just enough to fix my car and bike. Probably not enough to improve on anything." I explained. That part was true. I don't have a lot of anything like the rest of my family does. Including money. 

"That's good. After supper, you and and Darcy can go through what we're selling and take what you want. We have stuff in the garage and upstairs. This house is such a mess." my mother told me, taking a dish out of the oven. Garlic bread. The only thing good about this meal. 

"Why don't you go tell the other two that dinner is ready." she told me, putting out cork-boards for the hot pots and pans. I nodded and set my barely touched jar of tea on the counter. The living room wasn't far from the kitchen so it only took a couple seconds to let them know and walk back to the kitchen in time for my mother to hand me utensil bundles to set the table with. I moved my tea to the table spot that was always mine, on the opposite side of the four sided table with my sister to my left, my parents directly in front of me and the front door to the right. A perfect escape plan that always worked when I got too frustrated and ran away and didn't come back till midnight, when my parents were asleep. 

Dinner was served to us at the table by my mother. She always dished out our plates, I can see nothing has changed. But what was the point. All the mothers in the family had memorized how much each person liked to eat and if it changed, well sucks to be that person. And the common-law in the house was that you had to eat everything on your plate without sneaking it into the garbage in order to watch the 7 o'clock news....how exciting. But after the news was done, it was free-reign. So I would often sneak a book to the table and hide it under the chair or my legs, read for an hour and put it away by the time the final casting was done. Today it would have to be me actually eating everything, no matter how bad it tasted. 

As mother placed a plate in front of my dad and then in her spot, my dad raised his hands waiting for us to join in on prayers. I reached over the table to hold my fathers hand and then again to my left to hold Darcy's as my mother sat down. 

"Dear lord, we thank you for this meal you have blessed us with. We thank you for bringing both of our daughters to us today. We thank you for blessing us with another day on your beautiful Earth. In your name we pray, Amen."

"Amen." 

And with that, we let go of each others' hands and began eating. I tried to hide my disgust with a smile, and I think I did really well with it because no questioning glances from any one was sent my way. 

"So, Evie. Find a guy to settle down with yet? Maybe a co-worker, or a neighbor?" My dad asked. I paused my chewing, both of those topics were sketchy since 1) I killed my neighbor and 2) I  technically just met my co-workers or I hardly know them yet. I slowly finished chewing my food and swallowed before answering. 

"Um...no actually..not yet. I don't think you would approve  of my neighbor and I had only just started working with my new co-workers so that department is a little bare." I answered, hoping to maybe lighten the situation. 

"Why would we not approve of your neighbor. What's he like?" my mother asked. 

"Well...uh....he's kind of...you know...dead." I answered, earning a shocked expression from everyone, including the house plant. 

"And how did that happen?" Darcy questioned, obviously she didn't pick up that I was still a mercenary and people can't be trusted. 

"Well...I went on a job, tracking down an illegal weapons dealer who dealt nuclear type weapons." I paused, clearing my throat. That last part was a partial  lie. I have to add nuclear to everything weapons related to make it seem like I saved the entire planet by taking down one guy in hopes of my parents accepting my job title. "And it turns out that my neighbor was his second in command...so the group I'm working with....cleared his clock." I had to make it seem like I was hardly involved or else I would also be in big trouble for that too. 

"Oh, well now the world should be a better place with both of them gone, right?" My dad questioned. 

"Yup, one less bad guy to deal with!" Darcy said happily, munching on her food like it was going out of style. It was quiet  for a while up until Darcy asked for seconds. When she said that I almost gaged because I was almost done my dinner and ready to puke. Of course mom let her, she loved this stuff and chances are that both my parents hated it so they wanted to get rid of it fast. 

By the time I finished, it was time for desert, which I didn't know we had. But to my surprise, it was something all of us liked. Grandmas caramel apple pie. Of course there was the odd time my grandfather would ruin it by putting melted cheddar cheese on top instead of vanilla ice cream like  the rest of us. That too made me wanna hurl. 

Of course, I gobbled that down and mom let me have seconds of that before we went on to watch the news. Mom and dad got the recliner chairs while Darcy and I got the wooden rocking chair or the foot stool in front of the fire place. But since I was the oldest child, I had to give up my seat at the rocking chair for anyone else, including Darcy. Which I didn't mind, but if it was anyone else, I was grumpy about it. But since I was used to being in the same position for hours when spying-even on the footstool- I wasn't bothered by it too much. At least it wasn't the floor. The news went by slow until a global article came on. 

 _"The hunt is on for answers as to how a New Orleans local wound up dead in Venice. Sean Hastings was found dead in what seemed like an ex-military base just outside a town not even an hour away from Venice. He was found along with a dozen and a half highly trained men- half of which have not been identified due to the fires that burned for days around the area following what local police are calling an ambush on the highly illegal camp. This is just one of the ambushes that have happened around the world following the investigation of the human trafficking operation in Brazil were hundreds of women were found beaten and sold on a black market. Governments are spending thousands of dollars towards an investigation to see  whether all of this is connected  or part of a different operation of illegal business."_ The news anchor lady explained. I gulped, hoping not the bring too much attention to myself. 

"I don't suppose that  has anything to do with you?" my mother questioned. 

"A little bit." I answered softly, creating an awkward atmosphere for myself before an article came on about New Orleans. 

 _"Many people are being investigated after the death of CIA Agent, Phillip Johnson. Sources tell us he was investigating what happened in Venice and seeking out anyone tied to it before he turned up under a bridge, dead. The CIA is asking that if anyone knows anything about his death or knows someone who does, to contact their local authorities as soon as possible."_ This time it was a man speaking live from New Orleans. I saw a glimpse of Barney and Lee in the background heading towards Tool's shop  wondering if they had been interrogated previously and if they had, did they give me away.  

My parents didn't ask any more questions- to my surprise- and instead, we finished watching the news in peace before my father brought us out to the  garage where boxes of our old stuff had been stored and collected in a organized fashion. We brought the boxes inside so we could go through them in the living room while my parents brought down boxes from upstairs. I opened the first box and pulled out  a camera case. It was my photography camera from my 14th birthday. It still had perfect lenses, quality and about 5 SD cards filled with pictures. That's right, I filled 5 64 GB SD cards with pictures, and they were all good quality photos. I also had two big photo albums and 2 smaller photo albums filled with developed photos, all categorized from mine and Darcy's birthdays to camping trips in campgrounds somewhere. The bad thing about those was they were mostly duplicates. I packed that box back up and set it aside to take  home with me since I wanted to keep everything. 

 The next box was clothes. I went through it all but mainly kept all the hoodies I had collected, all of them still good quality and still looked the same as they did years ago. Anything else in the box would be sold at my parents garage sale. Darcy, however, kept all of her clothes. Typical. I went through box after box, keeping anything that was sentimental, like all the unused notebooks I had bought. I was an avid writer in my teenage years. But soon, studying overpowered all my time as I tried to finish school and take my college courses so I gave up on it. 

Eventually, I ended up with six boxes of my own and they were all fairly big, considering. I figure two, maybe three could fit in the trunk, the camera box could go in the passenger seat with Darcy and the rest could go in the backseat, but Darcy had way more than me. 

"My roommate has a truck. I can always come back for them." Darcy explained happily. She was always happy to come visit my parents. 

"Of course, sweetheart. You're always welcome. " My mother said with a sincere smile. One that I never received. 

"Well, it is getting late, though. You two have a bit of a drive back home. Why don't we help you pack things into the car before you leave. More time for visiting. " My dad suggested, noticing how my mother displayed her favoritism out in the open like she usually doesn't do. Clearly, a few hours with me here is too much for her to handle. Pfft, she has no idea. 

But we went with dads suggestion and loaded my boxes into the car. We ended up putting a box behind each seat and three in the trunk and still had room for two out of eight boxes Darcy had. My camera box went on Darcy's lap. 

We had our last little bit of conversation outside with our neighbors, who have been there since we were kids. And before 9, we said our awkward goodbyes before getting back in my car. We buckled our seat belts and Darcy adjusted the box on her lap. I let my left arm rest on the steering wheel and hesitated to start the engine. 

"Be honest here, how do you eat that stuff?" I asked her, turning to look at Darcy. 

"What do you mean? The pasta?" She questioned, earning a nod. "It's good. Don't tell me you don't like it." She said, giving me a questioning look of disbelief. 

"It's terrible, you can't add whisky to any sauce, especially in the amount mom does because it separates. It messes with the consistency." I argued. 

"Oh no, you're just picky. Now hurry up and start the car." Darcy demanded and I turned the key in the ignition. 

"Grab my phone out of my bag." I said, as I pulled away from the house, Darcy waving one lat time before doing as I told her to. 

"You know distracted driving is kind of illegal, right?" She mentioned, handing me my phone. 

"Yeah, yeah, what ever. This is important business stuff. No speaking." I told her as I dialed Gunner's number. I put it on speaker phone and set the phone in the door again. 

**"I thought you were doing family stuff?"**

"Family stuff is over. Where are you right now?" I asked, bluntly. 

 **"At Tool's with the guys havin' a few drinks. Why is that illegal?"** he asked. 

"Not necessarily. Put the phone on speaker phone." I told him as I focused on driving, earning weird looks from Darcy. 

 **"Evie. Good to hear from you. Everything alright?"** I heard Barney speak. 

"Everything _was_ fine. Until my family conducted our post-dinner ritual of watching the news, the full news and nothing but the news for it's hour broadcast." I explained. 

 **"What's so bad about the news?"** I heard Lee question. 

"Oh, I don't know, maybe the fact that they referred to Sean has a 'New Orleans local' or that they mentioned what we did in Venice as an ambush. Or maybe that I saw Barney and Lee walking in the background towards Tool's shop as some guy gave a live broadcast about the dead CIA agent that was at my front door bright and early in the morning like he knew I would be awake. Any of this sound a slight bit worrying to any of you?" I vented, earning an unwanted comment from Darcy.

"Daamn girl, are you panicking or are you frustrated? Pick one." She said quietly, but not quietly enough.

 **"What, who's that with you?"** Lee asked again. 

"Just my sister. It's cool. She knows what I do and she was there for the news."

 **"You gotta be careful with this kind of stuff, Evie. But you shouldn't have to worry too much about any of the news. We covered it up pretty well. But we still have no clue who the killer is. Or if they were trying to cover up the fact that Venice even happened."** Barney stated. 

"Alright. Just thought I'd check. I should be home in a few days. Let me know if anything changes." I told them. 

 **"Will do. Be safe."** Barney said before the line was cut. They probably had it covered, but just to make sure, I sent all my contacts from my work phone to my personal phone before chucking it out the window in front of the wheel of a tractor that was going the opposite way. 

"Why'd you do that?! Phones aren't cheap ya'know!" Darcy exclaimed, getting freaked out about what I did. 

"It's fine. It's just my work phone. My personal phone is back at your apartment with the rest of my stuff. I'll just get a new one. I have contacts that can help me. " I explained. Darcy just shook her head before staring out the window. I then realized I was running low on fuel and there was a truck stop about half way between here and there so I planned on stopping. Darcy was quiet the whole way there, probably because she was tired. So I didn't bother asking her if she wanted anything from inside when I went to pay; for the gas and my munchies. :)

And before we knew it, we were back at  her apartment, carrying her two boxes up to her room before getting ready for bed. I crashed on the couch just as it was because both of us were too drained to set up the pullout. 

-Next Morning-

 

When we woke, her roommate, Ryan, had made us both breakfast before he went to the gym. Today was suppose to be an adventure because Darcy wanted to go to the new shopping mall in town. Two stories, over 150 stores. Yikes, I could go broke. Good thing Darcy's job pays well. She does what they need her to do and they pay her good money. Good enough for her to spend it all on clothes and stuff. While she took an hour to get ready, I just dressed in sweatpants and a long sleeve shirt, nothing else. My hair loosely braided to the left side with minimal makeup. While Darcy was dressed like she was going on a date- dress, low heeled shoes, full face makeup, hair did all nice a pretty.  I sat on the couch and looked at her in disbelief. 

"We're going to the mall, you know that right?" I asked. 

"Well, duh. I wanna look my best, you know. Dress to depress. Dress so good everyone hates themselves." She said, twirling around. 

"Ohkay, that's terrible words to go by but what ever. Let's go get this over with." I said, standing up and heading for the door. Within half an hour, we were parked and walking in one of the main entrances. 

"We need to check out this one store. It's new and it has every style of clothing you could ever imagine like there's something for everyone in that store." Darcy told me as I pushed through the heavy doors of the mall and passed multiple people. 

"You sure it's not just like every other store where they sell stuff for a certain type of people, style wise?" I questioned as we passed by an indoor fountain. What? Why? Who puts a fountain inside? That's ridiculous!

"Oh! We need to go to that store over there too!" Darcy exclaimed, about to run off, but I grabbed her arm and stopped her. 

"How about, we walk around in an orderly fashion and if we see a store on the way that we want to look in, we can. Not bounce from one store to another because I will surely go crazy." I told her calmly, feeling like I will actually lose my mind today. 

"Good idea. Which way do you want to go?" She asked. We had five choices: to the left, to the left but center a bit, straight ahead, to the right but center a bit or to the right. All of which connected back to the center where we already were. 

"Right. We'll work our way down, by the time we hit the center hallway, it'll be around noon. We can stop for a break there if we're both hungry or not." I said before we begun our epic adventure. Darcy stopped a multiple places, but I only browsed or stood by while she tried on multiple clothes or paid for the multiple things she bought within the first few stores. Eventually I made her stop buying things or trying things on because we weren't even half way through the first section and she already had four bags. 

We walked for a bit until we made it to the second section where the store Darcy really wanted to show me was. We browsed around until Darcy dragged me into the corner of the store and began holding items of clothing to me to see how they looked. She basically threw them at me and then pushed me into a change room. I tried them all on, but only picked out a few of the clothes. I liked the one shirt. It was more see through along the shoulder and the top of the chest area, long sleeved and needed a tank top underneath. It kind of slumped down one shoulder like someone might have stretched out the neck hole a little bit. I also got the tank top that went with it only because it was comfier than most of my other ones. My other ones were comfy, but this one just took first place. 

The other shirts were just graphic tees that I thought were cute. The other shirts either didn't feel right or just weren't my style. Darcy said I was crazy and bought them for herself anyway. Although I told her not to because I wasn't going to carry her bags for her. 

Once we were done in the store, we finished the second section before going out to the car to put the bags in and continue shopping. We walked and joked around like we always did before I left. And whenever Darcy spotted a store to go into, the conversation paused, she showed me the store and the conversation continued like nothing had happened. 

Eventually, we made a stop at the food court; grabbed a bite to eat before continuing our journey through the last couple sections before heading up stairs where the good shit was. Arcades, stores dedicated to nothing but movies of all types, stores dedicated to music of all genres and of course, more games and shit with vendors and what not. 

We spent most of our time in the arcade, winning game after game after game until we both had too many tickets to hold and they brought us buckets. At one point the manager of the arcade shop had to come and watch us to make sure we weren't cheating and once he had verified we weren't, he left us be. What an adventure!

After we played many games, we decided we should leave some excitement to everyone else and went to go see what prizes we could win. Darcy and I settled on combining our tickets and got a board game called Exploding Kittens. Whatever was left over of our tickets we gave to some kids that had no chance of winning. 

We browsed for another hour, splitting it between the movie store and the music store before taking our stuff back out to my car. My back seat was pretty much filled while my bank account was probably a barren wasteland. Which was ok because I could always get another job and refill it. 

We drove in almost silence until we reached Darcy's apartment where one of the service guys came and helped us carry stuff upstairs to her apartment. By now, I'm sure he thought we were crazy so we tipped him a few bucks and carried on with our day. I organized all my stuff so that most of it would fit in my suitcases, separating what I could where for the next few days and what can wait until I get home along with what can stay in their bags or combined bags until I leave. Darcy threw all of hers into the wash before we ripped open one of our sets of movies. Ryan wouldn't be home for another couple hours so we still had time to ourselves so we started our marathon of the Die Hard movies I had bought because why not.

We were just about to finish the  first one when Ryan got home. He freshened up from work and joined us on the couch for the second movie while Darcy ordered food from an Italian place just down the street. And no, we weren't going to get it. 

With tomorrow being my last day here with Darcy for what will probably be another long duration of time, they were going to take me out to dinner at this nice restaurant they go to every couple months or so. So tonight, we eat in; consuming more junk, and tomorrow, we lounge around once more before going to dinner and then the next day, I leave. It wasn't quite the long trip I wanted to take, but with everything going on back in New Orleans, I didn't want to stay away for too long. I was just going to make an effort to visit more often. Maybe my parents wouldn't despise me so much. 

 

**-Time Skip-**

 

The next morning went by pretty slow. Ryan had the day off work so he stayed home and chilled with us. He was a pretty decent guy, which was different from most of the guys Darcy was with the last few years. Those guys were either douche bags or couldn't keep up to Darcy and her shenanigans. 

We spent the day doing more shopping, except this time is was at the grocery store because they were falling behind on food. I pushed the cart around while Ryan and Darcy argued about what cereal to get. I pretty much ignored them while making silly faces with a baby that wouldn't stop staring and smiling at me. 

"Seems like someone made a new friend. Didn't you baby girl." The lady, who I'm assuming was the mother, stated in a cooing voice.

"She's adorable. What's her name?" I asked, playing a game of peek-a-boo with  the small infant. 

"Charlotte-Marie." The lady answered, smiling at our interaction. 

"What a lovely name. " I said as the baby laughed. I had noticed Darcy and Ryan had left the isle. I'm always terrible at saying good bye to strangers so with my luck, a man, who I would assume to be the father, came over and started talking to the lady. I waved goodbye to the baby before hurrying away to find Darcy. 

"Took you long enough  to catch up." she said upon my arrival in the canned isle. 

"But there was a baby." I said, pointing over my shoulder to the isle I was in previously. 

"Of course. Big badass crumbles because of a baby." Darcy said, rolling her eyes. "Tell me something: if that baby was ripping out your kidney, would you still find it adorable?" she questioned. 

"Shit, probably." I answered in dumb tone. 

"You're unbelievable." Darcy mumbled, rolling her eyes once more before we continued our shopping. I followed the two around, pushing a full cart behind them when I got a phone call from Barney. 

"Hullo, this is Joe's Crematorium. 8 ball speaking." I answered. 

"Do you answer all your phone calls like that?" Barney began, already getting tired of my shit. I followed them as we headed to the check out.

"Only when I know who it is. Whats up?" I asked. Knowing Barney as little as I  did,  he seemed like the type of person to only call someone if it's an emergency. 

"Another CIA agent went missing in your area. I think you're being framed. " he told me, bluntly. 

"Shit..." I cursed under my breath.

"What's wrong?" Darcy asked in the middle of unloading the cart. 

"Nothing." I said, waving her off. "You got any leads?" I spoke quietly. It wasn't safe for me to be talking about this in public. 

"Nothing yet. But we'd all feel comfortable if you came back so we can sort this out." He told me.he was starting to sound like an parent who's rebellious teenager just ran away because they thought  their family was shit. 

"Don't worry. Tonight's my last night here and then I'm driving home tomorrow. I'll drop my shit off at home and I'll come over to Tool's or what ever. " I said as I pushed the now empty cart towards the end of the till where Ryan started loading bagged groceries. 

"That works. I'll let the guys know. Just be careful. " he said before hanging up abruptly. It seemed weird, but at the same time it seemed oddly typical of Barney. 

I put my phone away and waited for the two to pay for their stuff before we went back out to Ryan's truck where we loaded everything into the bed under the tono-cover.

"What was that all about?" Darcy asked as we piled into the truck. 

"Another CIA agent was killed in this area. I think it's a good thing I'm heading home tomorrow." I explained vaguely. 

 

**-Time Skip-**

 

Around 6 o'clock, we left Darcy's apartment, dressed in formal clothes- head to toe- times three. Taking Ryan's truck once more, we drove across town to the restaurant where we had a reservation for 7:30. 

We were seated pretty quickly and we were brought our drinks pretty quick. 

"So what's good here?" I asked, skimming through the menu. 

"The pizza and pasta section is good, just don't get anything with seafood. It always tastes like it was raised, caught and processed in the same dingy warehouse somewhere in China. " Darcy explained, sipping at her $10 glass of cheap wine. Ryan wasn't drinking since he was driving which let me have a drink myself. Scotch was my poison for the night. This place seemed to be fancy, but not as expensive as regular fancy restaurants are. 

"I think I'll get the _Lemon-Garlic Fettuccine Alfredo_ again. That one was good last time. " Ryan declared. 

"I'm feeling like the _Korean Barbecue Ruben Sandwich_. What are you going to get, Evie?" 

"I'm thinking about the _Beef Oriental Stir Fry_." I answered, reading over the ingredients and description one last time. Before we knew it, our waitress took our orders and refilled our drinks and we engaged in a laugh-filled story telling worm hole. 

-

"There was the one time, Evie thought she could fly over water when we were really little kids so when she ran off the dock, she jumped as straight forward and as flat as she could, but instead of flying, she face planted into the  lake and broke her nose on the impact." Darcy told, hardly containing her laughter. Ryan was leaning back in his chair holding his stomach from laughing too hard. I felt my cheeks heat up as I took a sip from my drink and chuckled. 

"What was going through your mind when you decided to try and fly over water?" Ryan questioned as our food was placed down in front of us. 

"I honestly have no idea. I was a weird ass kid." I answered before we dialed it down to small talk while we ate. 

Before we knew it, the night was over and we were back at the apartment loading some stuff into my car so I wasn't rushed in the morning when I left super early. I wanted to get the hell out of this town before I'm  apprehended  by anyone thinking I killed anybody on my days off. 

Ryan went to bed shortly after while Darcy locked up the apartment. I set an alarm and changed for bed before shutting the lights off and crawling in for the  night. 

**-The Next Morning-**

The goodbyes were hard. I didn't want to leave Darcy alone in case someone tried to go for her. But she had Ryan to protect her, so it settled a few of my nerves. Darcy didn't want me to go because she never got to see me much anymore, but I reassured her that if she called in advanced she could come down any time as long as I ain't dead. 

They walked me down to my car, Darcy huddled under my arm as I waved to the guy that carried our bags up more than once- Ryan following shortly behind. Once we reached my car, I gave a short hug to Ryan before Darcy almost didn't let go. 

"Please be careful. I already don't see you enough, I don't want to see you dead. " She mumbled, half asleep into my shoulder. 

"I will. You know, you can always Skype or call me. I'll let you know when I'm going away for work so you don't think I'm dead." I told her before we parted from our hug. 

"Drive safe too. There's a lot of horrible drivers out there." She said as I opened the door. 

"Just because you said that, I'm going to race them all down the highway." I said jokingly, which wiped the frown from her face for a moment. 

"Can you call when you get home?" she asked as I sat down in the drivers seat.

"Of course. " I said before shutting door the starting my car. They both moved so I could back out of my parking spot and with one final wave, I drove out of the parking garage and away from the apartment complex. I stopped at the first gas station I saw and filled up my tank once more so it was full I didn't have to stop as much. I also loaded up on snacks and what not before hitting the road. The next 10 hours were sure to be boring since I had nothing to look forward too, except my own bed, of course. 

I definitely wasn't looking forward to dealing with this dead CIA agents. But I guess we have to. It is our job, after all. By the time I left town it was closer to 7 AM which means if all goes well, I'll be home around 5 or 6. That is if I don't get pulled over for speeding. 

After multiple hours of the practically the same view, I called Barney, but he didn't answer. Gunner was probably the next best idea so I dialed his number and waited. No answer. I went through all the others and none of them answered. Lee was the last one I wanted to call in case he answered, but hung up again. Like usual. But it was worth a shot. 

Nothing. 

With none of them answering, it made me worry and suspicious. If they got taken in, it would be bad for all of us. I would be the only one left at freedom and I cant break out five guys without getting caught. And then we'd all be in the same predicament. 

I didn't necessarily have Tool's number memorized like I did with the others so that was out of the question. I didn't want to pull over and try to find it so I left it be and for the next four hours, I sat and drove until I got back into town. I had shut my phone off as I reached the city limits and turned the radio down to almost nothing in case of ambush. I took paths less traveled until I got home and pulled into my back garage and moved everything into the house. I changed into comfortable jeans and a black tank top. I grabbed my leather jacket and the keys to my bike and locked up my house. I shoved my house keys and wallet into one of my saddle bags and pushed my bike out of the garage. I grabbed my helmet and locked up my garage before starting my bike in the alley. I let the engine warm up while I put my helmet on before taking the long way to Tool's shop. I took roads that aren't under a lot of surveillance or aren't traveled a whole lot to try and stay under the radar. 

When I got there, the bikes were parked around back so I followed suit, but the back door and front doors were locked. I didn't bother turning my phone on in case it was a real problem. I saw a window up on the third floor that was cracked open just a smidgen. I put my keys in my breast pocket and did up the button before grabbing a hold of a pipe that lead up the side of the building. Using fasteners and cracks in the wall as grips for my hands, I free-climbed the side of the building until I got to the level with the window. It was too far away for me to reach it while attached to the pipe, so I braced myself and found a sturdy place for my feet before launching myself towards the window. I grabbed the open window and it swung open even more, but it didn't make  a sound. The only sound was me trying to catch my unstable breath. 

With the window open enough for me to climb through, I grabbed a hold of the ledge and hoisted myself up. I landed in the room without a sound and looked around. All the windows were blocked which let no light in. I shut the window I climbed in through which made the room pitch black. There was a bed, a couple dressers and an open door. From where I stood, it looked like a bathroom. I noticed a set of double doors which seemed to be closet doors. I slowly approached them and checked to see if anyone was hiding behind them. 

Nothing. 

I checked the  bathroom as well and found a gun behind the toilet. I picked it up and left. There was a mini kitchen set that looked like a hotel room kitchenette. There were stairs that followed the lift down to each floor. The lift was down at the bottom and it was oddly quiet through out the building. I slowly stepped down the stairs, making sure they didn't creak where I stepped. There seemed to not be a second floor, just more stairs. I held the gun out in front of me as I stayed close to the inner wall of the  stairs. As I reached the bottom of the stairs, a faint golden light seemed to peer around the corner. I put the gun down by my side and pushed myself further against the wall if possible. I tried peering around the wall and saw that there was candles with dark silhouettes sitting around a table like some sort of cult. I watched the silhouettes for a moment. They sat completely still until one became restless. 

"Man, this is bullshit. She's not answering her phone. They probably already got her. " One of them said quietly. 

"She knows to come here as soon as she gets back. She's probably taking the same precautions we did earlier when they scoped this place out. Relax." another one said. It sounded like Toll Road and Caesar arguing. 

"Worst case scenario: they tried cutting her off on the  highway and she's lying in a ditch now." That sounded like Gunner. 

"I can assure you I'm not apprehended and I'm certainly not in a ditch." I said, relaxing and slowly appearing from behind the wall. They all turned, reaching for a gun or a knife until they realized it was just me. 

"If you could stop sneaking around the place that'd be great. I'm not feeling like having a heart attack any time soon." Lee mentioned, angrily. 

"If you guys didn't lock all the doors and black out the windows I wouldn't have to." I said, walking over to the table and placed the gun in front of Tool. "And who the hell keeps a gun behind the toilet?" I questioned him. The others look at him with questioning expressions.

"What? Helping you bastards out comes with consequences. A man has to be prepared for anything." Tool defended himself. 

"Well now that we're all here. We can finally figure out how we're going to deal with these people framing us. " Barney said, grabbing everyone's attention. I pulled over a chair and Caesar tossed me a beer. It was the beginning of a long night.

 

**~End of Chapter 10~**

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After Evie's week of visiting, there's going to be a time skip and in that time skip is when they add Billy The Kid to their team and the whole Jean Claude Van Damn epic-ness goes down and what not. Only because I suck at writing stuff while going along with movies because i tend to change things too much and then it turns into a different thing all together, so just watch the movie and pretend Evie is there and does dumb stuff because I'm not even going to try. 
> 
> But there is some super good stuff coming and I think you're all going to like it. Maybe a few tears, a dash of betrayal and like always...EmOtIoNs....but what else do you expect from 3am writing. 
> 
> (This was just a little PSA)


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Recap: Billy came into the group. Movie stuff happened and now the lot is at Tool's shop recovering one night. Evie has bullet grazes on her arms and left leg. Also has black eye from close quarter combat with one of the goons they were fighting. 
> 
> And Billy's dead so....eMoTiOnS...
> 
> Plus........someone may have different fEeLiNgS towards a couple people. 
> 
> Coming soon: more fEeLiNgS and EmOtIoNs

**Evie's POV**

 

The beer didn't taste as good as it use to. The atmosphere in the room was nothing like it use to. There was no arguing between Caesar, Toll or Gunner. Barney sat silently in a corner, slowly tumbling his lucky ring between his fingers; expressionless. Lee wasn't even sharpening his knives like he does after a job is finished. I was laid out on the couch, not touching my beer or the burger Tool brought me. He bought us dinner, but none of us had eaten. I didn't want to move my arms in case I re-opened the wounds that were half-assed bandaged. My leg was raised and loosely bandaged as well. No one wanted to do anything. So we sat in silence. 

I heard the sound of a box being taped and looked over to see Lee boxing up wads of cash and the letter Billy had wanted us to give to his girlfriend in France. After taping the box shut, he taped the address to it and left it by the front door before sitting back in his seat and sipping his beer. Tool didn't know Billy too well so he didn't feel as bad as the rest of us. In fact, I'm pretty sure he felt bad for us, since we couldn't do anything to save him. Everyone knows if you get stabbed, you should leave the knife where it is, keep it from bleeding out. Vilain must have wanted him dead, must  have wanted us to be off our guard with our head out of the game. Pretty sure Vilain regrets his decision since Barney gutted him like a turkey. Church wanted proof of death. Barney gave it to him. 

My stomach rumbled once more before I gave in and tried to eat something. No one paid any attention to anyone or anything. We just sat silently. 

When someone dies on a job, you don't mourn until they're avenged or the job is done. Once you get home, that's when things get dark. Maggie had gone back to working with Church along with Booker. Trench disappeared once more, off doing what ever the hell he does. We didn't see too much of Yang anymore. All that was left was us and Tool. 

I didn't even finish my burger before wrapping it up and setting it on the small table at the end of the couch. I felt sharp tingles in my arms  and saw that I was starting to bleed through the bandages. I sighed and let my arms fall back down before using my weak abs to hoist myself into a sitting position. And the my leg started bleeding again. I grabbed a kit before I laid down earlier, but had no motivation to use it. I also had a roll of paper towel, only because I didn't feel like bleaching any towels anymore. I weakly peeled the bandages off my leg and held a wad of paper towel to the bullet graze. I wasn't shot at all, just grazed by bullet after bullet until my arms were almost covered. Walking on my leg felt similar so having a limp, just more painful. Thank god for shorts and tanktops or my clothes would be torn to shreds and inside my wounds.  

I let go of the paper towel on my leg and tried to thread the suture needle but my hands were shaking too much to get the thick thread through. I let out a shaky sigh and let my head rest on the back of my hand, my elbow propped on my right leg, my unharmed leg. Too many emotions. I wasn't ready for the guys to see me cry yet so I did my best to calm down. They've seen a tear or two slip, but not the crying I wanted to do: gross sobbing curled into a ball on the floor. 

I was too busy trying to calm down that I didn't see nor hear him approach until Gunner took the needle and thread from my hands. I looked at him with a confused gaze as he threaded the needle with ease and took the blood soaked paper towel wad off my leg.  

"I figured I owed you after you helped me." He told me quietly before starting to stitch my leg back together. The time I stitched his arm after Brazil came to mind.

"Thanks." I mumbled, almost inaudibly- completely unfazed by the pain this time. And then silence. No one said anything or even bothered to question anything. The silence was starting to become uncomfortable to me. But I guess the guys need time. Just like they always do. 

Gunner finished stitching my leg and moved to my arms. I didn't argue. I didn't make a fuss. I just sat there, expressionless, but emotional. I hid my emotions pretty well. 

After a few moments, my wounds were stitched and wrapped in new bandages. I felt the need to go home so I could get some decent sleep, and not have to hide my gross sobbing. Gunner was putting away the kit and the paper towel, so he couldn't stop me from trying to stand up. Using the couch arm rest, I pushed myself up, feeling the stitches pulling, but not tearing- thankfully. 

I limped over to my bag and grabbed a pair of pants and a longer sleeved shirt and limped once more towards the bathroom. I struggled to change without the stitches pulling, but I managed without them tearing. I limped out and put my bloody clothes into my backpack and threw on my leather jacket, making sure my bike keys were still in my pocket. 

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Gunner asked, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. 

"Home." I answered. Not wanting to speak to anyone anymore. 

"You can't ride on your own." He stated, taking the keys to my bike out of my pocket. "Let me give you a ride home so you don't hurt yourself any worse than you already are." he continued. I sighed and nodded before taking back my keys and throwing them in my backpack. I left my helmet at home when I biked here before the job so I didn't worry about it. What else could possibly go wrong. Gunner grabbed his bike keys and I gave a salute to the guys who either mumbled goodbyes or waved in return before we left out the back door. 

"Do you even know where I live?" I asked as Gunner started his bike. 

"I think I remember from when we dropped you off that one time."He answered over the roar of the bike. I shrugged and adjusted my backpack before hopping on the back of his bike. I put my feet on the foot rests and held on as he speed out of the alley way and down the street. The ride was quiet, but peaceful. I held on to Gunner's shirt the entire ride. He missed a few turns, but eventually we got my house. He stopped the bike and shut off the engine. He stood up to let me off before grabbing my keys out of one of the pockets on my bag. 

"Thanks." I said, grabbing my keys, wrapping the carabiner holding all my keys around my finger. 

"You sure you're ok?" he asked, sitting back down on the bike. 

"Not really, but I guess what happens, happens. That's how this job works." I grumbled, looking down at my feet. 

"Yeah, sometimes it's like that." Gunner agreed. I looked up in time to see him switch his gaze from me to his feet only for him to look back up. "You know, you can always call me if you need anything." he told me. I only nodded, standing there was starting to hurt my leg a little more. 

"You probably won't hear much from me. That's how I work when it's mourning time. " I let out, honestly. 

"Probably, but still. You tend to isolate yourself a lot. Especially when we invite you to the bar after a job, it seems." he said, looking rather hurt. 

"Yeah....sorry about that. Maybe next time." I told him as I turned to walk up the sidewalk. "I'll see you later." 

"Alright. Try not to hurt yourself anymore. You took more of a beating  than the rest of us." Gunner called to me before starting his bike again. I turned back with a smile as he backed out of my drive way. I gave a small wave before he drove off down the street. I let my hand fall as my smile disappeared. For some unknown reason, part of me didn't want him to leave. And then I realized that it was probably my fault that I isolate myself all the time. It hasn't been the same since I left Darcy's. 

I tried to shake the feeling and walked up the my front door. Fumbling with the key, I unlocked it and walked in, shutting and locking the door behind me. I dropped my bag at the front door and hobbled up the few steps and into my living room. I knelt down to the floor in front of my television stand the best I could. I reached under the stand and grabbed a small silver key. I stood up and took a couple steps to the wall behind the couch. I moved a medium sized picture frame out of the way to reveal an in-wall safe. Upon unlocking it, the contents inside started to bring back one of the reasons I quit working for Church. Working for him was a nightmare that was impossible to get through without some sort of escape. Unfortunately, my sweet relief....was drugs. I felt everything starting to spiral out of control when I took them so the start to getting off them...was to get rid of Church. Hence the reason why I quit. Everything got better until now. 

"This is just a one time thing. No getting hooked like you did last time." I told myself out loud, hoping for it to be true this time. I grabbed a bag of small white pills. I retrieved two from the bag and put it away. I grabbed a pre-rolled piece of paper designated to these pills along with a thick card of some sort and put the  bag back. I shut and locked the safe and put the picture back in it's place. I didn't bother putting the key back yet so I left it in a cup sitting on the table in front of me. I sat down on the couch and stared at the pills in my hand. 

Was I really going to start this again? I stopped because I got out of something bad. This job was not bad. I had friends for once. A team to work with. 

But it wasn't picture perfect. 

I grabbed my TV remote and crushed the pills on the surface of the table before using the card to crush them into a finer dust and made two, thin lines in front of me. 

I can still wipe it away. I don't have to do this.

But I do. 

In one swift motion, I grabbed the rolled paper and inhaled the two lines back to back, still inhaling after the substance had left the table. I threw the paper roll onto the table and fell back onto the couch. My limbs and wounds began to go numb. My eye didn't sting every time I blinked and I felt myself getting lighter, the room got brighter. Those sweet, sweet few seconds of pain relief and emotional numbing was paradise. And after a few seconds, I was out like a light.

 

**-The Next Day-**

 

 As I stirred awake, I began to regain feeling in my limbs until I reached full consciousness. The first thing I saw was the mess left over from my sloppy paradise. I sat up and groaned, my head beginning to ache: the aftermath of my problems. 

I hurriedly cleaned my mess and put everything back in it's place before a knock came to my door. I quickly ran my hands down my face and under my nose before running my hands through my hair. I limped and opened the door only slightly as the harsh sunlight burned my eyes. 

"Wow, you look like a mess." Lee mentioned from the other side. 

"Well I just woke up so what more can you expect from me. " I retorted, earning only a chuckle from him. "What are you doing at my house so early...and why?" I asked as I rubbed my eyes. 

"Early? It's past noon? You sure you're ok?"  he questioned. It didn't seem to mean the same as when Gunner asked me that same question last night.

"It's past noon already? Yikes. I guess I should do something productive today." I said, opening the door even more and inviting Lee in. He didn't reject. I shut the door behind him.

"So..why you here? Making sure I wasn't dead?" I asked sarcastically. 

"Nah. My lady and I had an argument this morning. Needed to get out of the house." He said, sitting down in the same spot on the couch that I slept on last night.

"Well, if you're looking for relationship advice, you're in the wrong place." I stated, opening the fridge. Nothing to eat. Like usual. I've been a mess since I got back from Darcy's. 

"You say that like you haven't been in a real relationship your entire life." he said, almost mockingly. 

"That's because I haven't." I mumbled and checked my bread storage's. I had enough for _a_ piece of toast. As in, a singular piece of toasted bread from the end of the  loaf. Yuck. 

"You're kidding? You mean you've never had a thing for anyone in your life. " he questioned, almost like he didn't know I was a social reject. 

"You know how it is. A lonely introvert that kills people for a living. There's really no room for any sort of love. Fuck, the only love I've felt in my entire life was from my sister. " I said, throwing the bread back in the cupboard and turning to face Lee, leaning against the counter. "My parents despise me, I have no close friends. The only people I tolerate is you guys and even then, you're all a mystery to me." I ranted on. 

"You need to come to the bar with us one of these days. Maybe you'll find yourself some friends." he told me, almost sincerely. 

"Maybe I should just try and make more of an effort to accept the invitations I get from you guys first. " I said with a partial smile before looking at the ground. 

"You look like you need a hug."

"I don't need a hug." I argued. 

"Yes, you do." Lee countered, getting up from the couch and walking over to me. 

"No, I don't. I'm fine." No use. 

"Yes, you do. Come here." he said, wrapping his arms around me. 

"Please let go." I said, going stick straight.

"Not until you feel better." Why is he so stubborn? It did feel nice though. What was this? Why am I feeling different things towards different people? What's wrong with me? Maybe it was the pills I snorted last night. 

"Feel better yet?" he asked. 

"A little. Maybe that's my problem. I wasn't hugged enough as a child." I concluded. 

"Well if you need a hug, I'm always here." He told me, which brought up a couple red flags. 

"Wait a minute..." I said, pushing him away and looking him in the eye. "I thought you still hated me?" I questioned. 

"You saved my ass once or twice and you're not as bad as I thought you'd be." he said, taking a step back and leaning against the counter like I was previously. 

"Well that's one less problem I gotta worry about now." I shrugged, leaning against the same counter, taking some of the pressure off my leg.

"How's that leg of yours doing?" He asked, looking around my house.

"Meh. I've had worse." I grumbled. 

"Of course you have." he said before his phone went off. "It's my lady. Better take this." he said trying to walk out the back door, but stopped when he couldn't figure out the locks. 

"Got enough security?" he asked before I unlocked the door for him and stood out on my back deck. I limped my way down the hall to my bathroom where I sprayed some dry shampoo into my hair and brushed it to look for presentable. I brushed my teeth and washed my face before examining the clothes left on the floor. All dirty. 

I limped back out to where I left my backpack last night and emptied it on the counter. I left most things but took the clothes to my bathroom. I rinsed the blood ones in warm water and went to find clean clothes. Only to have none. All of them were either torn, blood stained or all of the above. 

"Fuck, I need new clothes." All I had was the tops I got when I was at Darcy's, and most of them were dirty because I wore them too many days in a row. I grabbed the sort of see-through over shirt and a black tank top that wasn't destroyed and threw those on. It hurt like hell, but what ever. I knew my stitches weren't torn yet so it was fine. I heard the door open and close before Lee appeared in the doorway. 

"You're a real mess you know that right?" He stated, pointing at all the bloody and destroyed clothes all over the place. "You can't even sleep on your bed there's so much shit on it." he said. 

"That's why I have a couch. " I mumbled, trying to gather up as much clothes and throw them across the room, making a pathway to the door. I limped into my bathroom once more and sprayed my bottom half with perfume. My usual routine for being a mess. 

"Is that how you live every day?" Lee questioned. 

"Only when I'm depressed." I answered, limping past him and into the kitchen. 

"I left my house this morning looking for something to do. Looks like I might have to help you get your shit together." he told me, picking up my backpack off the floor. 

"You don't have to do that." I told him, searching for something to eat in my kitchen. 

"Clearly I do." he said before going silent. I turned around to find that he had disappeared. 

"Where did he go?" I asked myself, slowly walking around until I found him picking the clothes off my floor in my bedroom and putting them in neat piles after examining the damage. 

"What are you doing?" I asked, taking a shirt out of his hands. 

"Helping you. Do you really need to keep ripped clothes that can't be fixed?" he asked, holding up a pair of jeans with a tear down the leg from when Toll bandages my leg to stop it from bleeding on the plane. 

"I was going to throw them out. I promise. " I defended myself. Earning myself a questioning glance from his part. 

"Well, whatever you said you were going to do, we're going to do today. " he said, picking up more clothes off the floor. "Hell, we can even burn the ones you don't wanna keep. Have a huge bon fire with the guys later." 

"What am I gonna do for clothes if I burn them all?"  I asked, searching for clothes that weren't destroyed, just dirty. 

"Part of this mess has got to be clean." he said, looking up at me as if waiting for approval. I shook my head slowly. 

"There's nothing clean in this room. Some of it may still be in one piece, but definitely not clean." I told him. His head sunk in shame. 

"We have so much  work to do." 

 

-

 

After a few hours, I had two garbage bags full of clothes that were torn apart and bloodied beyond repair. But I had enough to last me until I went into town....after I washed them all. I had to admit, it was pretty fun having Lee around. Even though all we did was clean up my bedroom and bathroom. I got a load of laundry done, but it was pretty small. I planned on going out tomorrow to find more clothes, especially for jobs. All those clothes were ruined. 

Although, we were productive, After we were done, I felt a bit of guilt because we practically forgot about what happened that last few days. I also got another craving for my sweet release again. I knew this would happen. I never should  have let myself do that last night. I was so stupid!

 

Eventually, Lee went back home to sort out everything with his girl. Only after I promised I wouldn't let myself turn into this kind of mess again. I finished my laundry and laid down in my nice clean bed for once. It was a change I didn't know I needed. My leg hurt like hell; I probably shouldn't have been on it all day like I was. My arms ached from all the moving around they did and laying down was a different release than what my addiction wanted, but I was willing to ignore it. Tomorrow, I would go get food and clothes. Maybe stock up on household things. Maybe I just needed a little push to get things back to normal. But I guess we'll see about that when tomorrow comes. 

For now, I had a load in the dryer- all the clothes I kept- and then I could relax. I felt drained of energy and that was probably because I hadn't eaten all day. I didn't have anything to eat so I'd probably go to bed hungry tonight and grab breakfast on my way to the stores. Except my body had other plans, like falling asleep at 7 before my laundry was done. But I was too out cold to care.

 

~End of Chapter 11~

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More of a short filler chapter, but at least it's something. I would have more written if I didn't have to work a 7 hour shift today *eye roll* 
> 
> Things will get more interesting, I swear.


	12. Chapter 12

**Evie's POV**

I woke up the next morning feeling refreshed, but starved. I also felt gross to the touch. And then I remembered I had left clothes in the dryer last night. As I retrieved those, by phone rang so I picked it up as I walked through the kitchen. 

"Hello." I said groggily, but still awake.

"Awake before noon, I see." Lee said from the other end. 

"Surprisingly."  I mumbled, holding the phone to my ear with my shoulder. "Whatcha need?" I asked, trying to kneel down to get all my clothes out of the dryer. 

"Just making sure you keep your promise. I won't let you be a mess anymore." He said, repeating what he said yesterday. 

"Oh my god, I made a promise and I'm keeping it. I have to go out and get groceries anyway. And for the last time, I'm fine." I told him, getting slightly annoyed. What is with this guy?

"Good. And don't forget you have clothes in the dryer." He said before hanging up. Confused, I looked through all the windows in my house. He was nowhere to be seen so how the fuck would he know I fell asleep before my clothes were done? 

"This motherfucker."

 

-

 

After my laundry was done, I got ready to leave the house, which meant making myself look presentable. I hid the dark circles under my eyes with make up and brushed out my hair, which had begun to fade in color and grow out in length. I pulled it back and tied it into a half-ponytail, half-bun thing. Whatever it was, it was convenient. 

I grabbed my wallet and keys to my car and shoved them in the inside pockets of my leather jacket before limping out the back door, locking up behind me. I figured it would be best to go clothes shopping first. I made a list of what I needed last night when Lee and I cleaned up. 

I started my car and drove down the back alley and towards all the shopping centers. I figured I would go to the military surplus store and get work clothes first. Those were my main priority. That and food. I managed to sneak a good parking spot right in front of the store where I was greeted by the owner. He knew Barney. I didn't know how well, but he did. 

"Are you Evie Roberts?" he asked, from the steps to the store. 

"I am." I said, pushing my aviator sunglasses up onto my head. 

"Don Michaels. Barney has told me much about you. " he said, leading me into the store. "So, what are you in for today?" He asked, walking behind the counter. "Tack, boots, knives?" 

"Work clothes. Mine are pretty much destroyed." I said, examining the boots along the wall. 

"Well, lucky for you, I give Barney a discount when he comes in so as a friend of a friend, I'll make sure you get a good deal." Don told me with a smile before walking out from behind the counter. "Our boots are hand-me-downs from military groups. I'm sure you can find a pair strong enough to withstand what ever the hell it is you crazies do." Don explained. 

"Those are sort of at the bottom of my list. What do you have for pants?" I asked, switching my gaze from the boots to Don. 

"Ahh, those I have in a separate room. I often get police force and what not come in so I have good stuff ordered in. I'll show ya." He said, pointing to a door covered by camouflage netting. As he lead me towards the room, I took note of other stuff around the store before he showed me around the clothing department. 

"These pants here are made with a material strong enough to withstand constant crouching, running, jumping, basically everything. You want to high kick someone, but they're 7-feet tall? No problem, they stretch, but don't tear. They're a little tight fighting so the material doesn't snag on objects or trees if you're on a sneak attack." He explained, holding up a pair of the pants. I only nodded. I flipped through the rack and pulled out a pair that were my size. 

"I have a good sale on them right now, Buy one, get one half off. One can never have too much of these pants." he told me before walking over to another rack. I picked out another pair of the same size and another one in a size bigger just in case before following him. 

"Over here are some tough ass shirts. Also closer to the tight fighting end of the spectrum, but loose enough they don't cling to you if you sweat a lot. Good for close range fighting, doesn't restrain movements with the sleeves, but the sleeves don't ride up your arm and bunch up. Everybody hates that." Don told me, moving his gaze from me to the shirts and picking out one that seemed to be my size. I was only wearing a tank top under neath since it was a warm day, so I set the pants down and threw the shirt on over top. He was right. This one was better than my long sleeve that is now destroyed. I made a few fighting movements before nodding in approval. 

"I'll take a couple. What do you have for long sleeves?" I asked, peeling the shirt off and grabbing another one and adding it to my pile over my arm. 

"Too much, that's for sure." he answered, strolling over to another section. "Same as the t-shirts: don't restrict movements, breathable. " he said, pointing to one rack. "These ones are weather tested. They retain body heat when it's cold and release it when it's warm. Good for anything. " he said, handing me another shirt, the same size as the short sleeve shirt. "Here, I'll get Jack to bring those to the front for you so you don't have to carry them around. Jack!" he shouted and a minute later a younger boy came in as I pulled the long sleeve over my head. It felt better than my old one. 

"Why didn't I get these when I started." I mumbled to myself before peeling the shirt off and adding it to my pile. I grabbed another long sleeve before Jack took the pile up to the front. 

"I thinks that's it for clothes for now. I'll browse through the boots, but I'm pretty stocked up for those. " I said, fixing my jacket back on. 

"Great. I'll let you look around for anything. Just shout if you need something. " he said before leaving the room. I browsed there a little more. Most of the shirts were black or navy green. I stayed with black because that's how I am. I found a few tank tops and grabbed a couple because those were a staple item of mine. No sleeves, no problems. 

I didn't really need much  more clothes for work. I could live off those until my next pay check because I was sure to go broke today, so I went back out and looked at boots. My boots were still in good condition. Those never wear out. Except for maybe the inside sole. I can easily replace that anytime, so I looked around at the knives and tack for a little bit. Barney usually handles the tack and keeps it on the plane- which we needed a new one, but he said he had it under control so I'm not going to worry about it.

I went up to the front counter where Don was cleaning something behind the till, it seemed until he noticed me. I grabbed my wallet out as he began scanning my stuff. 

"Didn't fancy any of the boots, eh?" He asked. 

"Not really. My boots are still good. Don't want to go too broke just yet." I told him as he finished bagging my new clothes. I paid and grabbed my bags and left. Barney had a good taste in clothing stores that's for sure.  

Now I just needed everyday clothes. Those I usually found in retail stores or second hand stores because I'm cheap and they have the comfiest stuff while still looking good. Maybe a couple baby puke stains here and there, but good quality, none the less. 

I wasted no time. I knew what I needed and went in, grabbed what I found nice and went up to pay. And without minimal conversation, I left with enough clothes to last me at least another two months. Now it was on to grocery shopping. The worst kind of shopping, especially when your lonely. So, I shoved most of my clothes into the passenger seat so my trunk and back seat was empty for my groceries if needed and started my drive across town to the cheapest grocery store. Like I said earlier: I'm cheap as fuck. 

-

As I reached the grocery store, I noticed the parking lot was rather full, making it hard to find a parking spot where I wouldn't get my doors dinged. Of course, people were lazier than normal and all wanted to park close to the doors which left me no choice but to park as far away as possible. But, it also left me a free cart next to my parking stall. So with my new cart and my wallet in hand, I tried not to get hit by idiots speeding through a parking lot. 

The store was buzzing with people who were probably already crabby and or batshit crazy. I put my head down and tried my best to stay out of peoples way. I started with basic stuff like eggs, milk and bread, but the shelves had been practically wiped clean. I managed to get the last couple loaves and the last jug of milk. The eggs were being stocked so I managed to grab a carton without being seen. 

I moved swiftly through the produce as people rushed to get their stuff. Carrots, beets, celery and potatoes were my go to items. I needed to start eating better, anyone could tell that. I grabbed a few apples, some sliced watermelon, a pomegranate and a couple mandarin oranges. Produce was running out quick. Almost like there was a hurricane coming and people were preparing. But its not hurricane season, everyone knows that. 

After I got my basic needs for food, I continued browsing down one of the snack isles until I overheard some yelling form the front of the store where the tills were. I chose to ignore it, figuring it was just some rowdy customers that started fighting. I went back to my shopping, not wanting to get involved with anything. I picked up some more of those Knorr Sidekicks packs for when I'm feeling too lazy to cook an actual meal. I grabbed a few boxes of granola bars for worst case scenario and what ever else snacks I wanted and or felt like having. I may be a grown-ass adult, but juice boxes were a staple item to have in your house. Nice, warm weather? Throw a few in the freezer for a few hours. Need something to drink but don't want too much? Grab a juice box! 

The freezer isle was practically empty so I snagged as many frozen meals as I could without going overboard. Turkey dinner, roast beef dinner, hell even chicken fingers. Bags of frozen fries were godly and although they may not be good for me, I was going to eat them and I was going to be happy about it. I'm in such a good mood that I bought those little smiley face fries. You're never too old for smiley fries!

I stocked up on cans of soup and what not before attempting to get through the crowds to the check out. I probably came at the worst time to go to the grocery store because the lady in front of me in line was taking forever to get her cards out and put stuff on the belt which made the cashier have a hard time because she was running out of counter-top room to put the bagged groceries and the lady wouldn't even put them in her cart. And then her card got declined about four times so then the supervisor came over, put her groceries in her cart for her and suspended her transaction while she continued to yell at someone over her phone about the card. Mean while, I loaded all my stuff onto the belt and moved my bagged groceries into the cart and did everything the lady before me didn't. And by doing that, I was done in under 10 minutes. Why? Because I know how to be a decent human being. Unlike some people. Eye roll. 

I bid the cashier a good day and good luck before I hurried past the angry old lady and the supervisor, and out the front door towards my car. I loaded the frozen and cold stuff in my back seat so I could have the A/C on and they would still stay cool enough for me to get them home. Everything else was stuffed into my trunk until there was no room and it went into the backseat with the rest of it. As I left the parking lot, I saw the old lady that was in line before me. She stormed out of the  store without a single item and with what seemed to be a permanent scowl after today. The supervisor was standing at the door watching her leave and that was the last I saw of them before I sped out of the parking lot. 

Groceries? Check. Work clothes? Check. Clothes in general? Check. 

I couldn't think of anything I needed while I was in town, so I settled on just going home for  the day. I was in a pretty good mood for being problematic. I put on my happier playlist for the 45 minute drive back to my house. New Orleans was a big place, but it left me with more time to enjoy the  nice day we were having. I rolled my window down and grabbed the aviator sunglasses out of my  glove compartment and stuck my elbow out the window as I cruised down the highway that crossed town. The neighborhood got insanely busy since I left this morning so I took a back way to the alley and into my garage. I backed in so it left me with more space to unload groceries. I popped my trunk and put the seats forward before attaching bags to carabiners so I could carry more inside at  once. It only took me about 6 minutes to unlock my back door, get groceries from my car, walk them up the small patio deck, into the kitchen before going back out for more, walking them up and into the house and going back to grab the last few bags, lock up the garage and get back to the kitchen to lock up the back door. 

As I shut the door, I heard constant cheers and shouting coming from somewhere. At first, I thought it was the TV, but upon noticing it was black screened and off, I got curious. I stepped towards the window and peaked through the blinds to see protesters at the end of the street and CIA and FBI agents all over Sean's property. 

"Shit." I cursed to myself before closing the blinds fully, letting light come in only through the windows in the back of the house. I rushed to throw my groceries in their new places and make sure the cold stuff went into the fridge or freezer before grabbing my leather jacket and my black baseball cap. I unlocked my front door and saw my elderly neighbor ladies standing outside looking lost and curious. I jumped my fence into their yard and stood by there deck railing. 

"Evie, what's going on?" The oldest lady, Vera, asked. 

"I was hoping you could answer that for me. I've been gone shopping most of the day." I told them as we watching the protesters trying to get through the barrier of officers like Sean was inside the house. The CIA and FBI agents stormed in and out of Sean's house until a familiar face walked out. 

"Oh fuck..." I muttered as Church looked my way. With a chuckle and a grin, he started walking over towards the fence separated my yard from Sean's. I followed suit, but carefully in case I wasn't suppose to be here. 

"You're looking better." He greeted, shifting his weight onto one leg. 

"What's going on, Church?" I asked impatiently. 

"We got new leads to the owner of the house in illegal weapons trafficking. You know him well?" Church asked. Hard question indeed.

"Yeah.....I killed him." I said bluntly. Church went silent in a state of shock with a little bit of awe. 

"When?" He asked after a moment of petrified silence. 

"Before the Vilian incident. He had Gunner chained up in an interrogation style. Saved Gunner and blew up Sean. You're going to end up going in circles if you keep trying to find him." I told him as professionally and as calm as I could. He stood up straight and nodded with an impressed expression. 

"You know I gotta arrest you for killing him, right?" he questioned. 

"Or I just helped you. I was on a mission that you and your CIA buddies couldn't finish so it was dropped. Underdogs heard of it so I finished it. I helped you." I told him. He nodded like I was making an actual point, which I was. 

"Maybe that's why we haven't found a body. You blew him up." He laughed, almost like he was proud. 

"So what are you going to do now that your case is a dead end?" I asked, folding my arms over my chest. Church was clever when it came to covering things up. 

"Go back to where you blew him up, I guess. Still got the information on the area?" He answered. 

"Yeah, I still got that one email of yours, I'll forward you the information later." I told him. 

"That'll be great, thank you." He said. "I'll let you go before anything else happens. If I were you, I'd leave the neighborhood util we're gone. Just to be safe." he told me. 

"How long will you be here for?" I questioned. 

"We're almost done tearing apart the house. Should be gone by the morning." I looked at him with a surprise stricken expression. 

"Morning!? Where am I gonna go?" I exclaimed, but not loud enough to gain the attention of the agents flooding the yard. 

"I don't know. Figure something out. That's what you're good at." He told me before turning and walking to one of the vans. 

"Bye I guess." I said before turning around and walking over to the fence separating my yard from the ladies' yard. 

"Who was that man?" Vera asked, one hand on her cane  and one over her heart. 

"My old boss. Look, I gotta go out of the neighborhood for a while. Can you call me when they're gone?" I asked as their care taker, Ruby, walked out of the house. 

"Yes, I still have that number you gave me. I'll have Ruby remind me." Vera replied as Ruby stopped at the fence. 

"What's going on?" she asked, her Puerto Rican accent was heavier than I remembered. 

"Government business. Classified stuff. Blah Blah Blah." I answered sarcastically, but with a smile. 

"I need you to remind me to call Evie when they're gone. She has to go away for a little while." Vera told Ruby. 

"Of course." She said to Vera before turning to me. "Where will you be going?" She asked. 

"Just out of the neighborhood. Vera has a number that I gave her for this kind of situations. Its to a cell phone I have for emergencies only, but now might be the time to use it." I explained. Ruby only nodded. 

"Do be safe, dear." Vera said, grabbing my right  hand and clasping both of her  hands around mine. 

"I will. But I have to go before anything bad happens to anyone." I told them. Vera dropped my hand and gave me a smile. "I'll see you all when I get back." I told them before running back into my house. I grabbed my phone, my emergency phone from my 'office' and my wallet. I put the items in the inside pockets of my jacket before grabbing my bike keys. I locked up my house and attached my house key to my bike keys before running to the garage. I made sure to lock the garage man door before opening the overhead door.  

I pushed my bike out of my garage and shut the big door behind me. I started my bike and  let it run as I strapped on my helmet and sat down on the seat. I kicked up the kickstand and revved the engine once before taking off down the alley, going behind the ladies' house instead of Sean's. After I left the neighborhood, I had no idea where to go next. I didn't know where any of  the guys lived, I only knew where Tool was and he said he was out of town for the week and it was only 3:30 in the after noon. Most bars don't open until at least 5. But I knew where the bar was that the guys all hang out at, so I thought I'd try it. 

I swerved in between lanes of the over pass to get to the exit I needed before cruising down the ramp. I took the first right and cruised for a bit before I found my way to the bar. I parked close to the front door as a worker turned on the open sign. He waved at  me as I took my helmet off. I waved back just as he unlocked the door and stepped outside. 

"You must have your bar times memorized 'cause you don't look like a regular." he told me as I set my  helmet on my handlebars and got  off my bike, taking my keys with me. 

"Actually, it was more like luck I think." I smiled as I walked up to the door. 

"Well, you're the first customer of the night. Welcome." He said, holding the door open for me. He was tall, maybe only a few inches shorter than Gunner. More of a chunky build, seemed friendly enough. 

"So, what can I get you?" he asked, walking back behind the bar and throwing the dish towel over his shoulder. Many of the chairs were still up on tables. 

"I'll start with a rum and coke, please." I  answered, taking a seat at the bar. 

"We're still waiting on our  coke shipment. We seem to run out of it pretty fast. I don't know why my boss doesn't just double the order. Anything else satisfy your taste?" he told me, pointing to the contents of the mini fridge below the bar that was along the wall. I leaned over and spied out the prey. 

"You know  what...I'm feeling adventurous. Make it a rum and root beer." I told him as I sat back down. How that was adventurous, I don't know. He grabbed a mini can out of the fridge and set it on the counter. 

"What about rum preference?" he asked, waving a hand at the rack  of liquor along the wall. I thought about it for a minute. Not too many bartenders ask about rum preference. 

"Surprise me." I answered with a cheeky grin. 

"I like your style, young lady." He asked before turning his back to me and reaching for one of the top bottles of rum. I watched him pour the whiskey in a glass before adding ice and then the root beer before placing the drink on a napkin  in front of me. 

"Merci." I thanked him before taking a swig. He walked over to the machine and punched in a couple things. 

"You got a tab?" he asked, looking up at me. 

"Nope-a-dope." I responded, taking another swig. 

"Want to start one?" He asked again. 

"Sure." I shrugged, setting my drink back down on the table top in front of me. He punched in a few things once more. 

"And what might  your name be?" he asked. 

"Evie." I answered, eyeing up the liquor along the wall. I heard him pause for a second before continuing to punch things into the machine. "Well, Evie. What brings you here so early? Want to get first dibs on alcohol?" he questioned, partially jokingly. 

"Needed a place to go. There's loud stuff going on around my  house. Needed to  get away from it." I answered in a partial lie. 

"Well, you won't find peace here. Soon I'll  have to call the bouncers to work." He joked, leaning against the bar. I finished my drink before speaking. 

"Well, the noise around my house is the kind of noise you can't drown out. I can drown out bar noise any day." I told him, feeling my nose tingle. I shook it off, not finding a reason to make a big deal about it. 

"I see, I see." he said before the bell above the door rang. I stayed facing the wall while the bartender stood up straight, his face showing clear disgust of sorts. I usually don't turn around to see who walks into a room. Most of the time it's not my place to know.

"Here to cause more trouble, Gunner?" The bartender asked the newcomer. Now I was curious. I turned around and saw Gunner's expression change from his normal resting bitch face to joy.

"Oh hey, Evie." he said, completely ignoring the bartenders question. 

"You know this troublemaker?" The bartender asked me. 

"Yeah, he's my work friend." I answered quietly as Gunner took a seat at the bar next to me. 

"Finally decide to get out of your hermit hole you call a house?" He asked me jokingly. I gave him the _'don't be a smart ass'_ look. He only chuckled to himself before I turned to the bartender. 

"Don't worry. I'll make sure he won't cause no trouble." I reassured him before putting Gunner in a head lock. 

"Hey! Cheap shot much!" he retorted, trying to rip my arm off him. I pulled him closer to me before letting him go and laughing with the bartender. 

"No fighting yet, the bouncers aren't here." The bartender laughed. I giggled as Gunner adjusted his bandanna that rested along his hair line and glared at me. 

"You say yet like we're allowed to fight once they get here." He said to the bartender. 

"As long as you don't break anything this time, fight all you want." The  bartender joked. 

"Nah, I wouldn't fight a lady." Gunner said, throwing an arm over my shoulders. "Especially not this one. She's deadly." He said, moving his arm from my shoulder to my neck. I sent a light punch to his ribs. 

"You probably would fight me if you had a drink in you. Come on, first ones on me." I told him as he took his arm back. It's almost like the bartender could read our minds because he came back with another rum and soda for me and a beer for Gunner. 

"Cheers." Gunner said  before clinking glasses with me. He downed half of his beer while I only took a sip of my drink. Not long after, more people began to  file in and the bartender left to do his job. 

"So, what brought  you out of the house?" Gunner asked, setting his beer down on the table top. I looked around the bar for anyone who looked like the agents I saw today before turning to face the walk  of liquor. 

"Remember Sean?" I asked him, leaning over the bar, my hands out in front, holding my drink. 

"The one who tied me up for information?" He questioned. 

"Yeah, that one. Well, I don't know if you knew or if I told you all this yet, but he was my neighbor. Church had a bunch of FBI and CIA agents milling around his house and property. I told Church what happened. He seemed cool with it, but he told me to get out of the neighborhood in case trouble broke out. He said they'd be gone by morning. Had no where to go so I came here." I explained before finishing off my drink. It was a tad stronger than the last. 

"Shit. That must have been a surprise." He stated before taking a swig of his beer. 

"Yeah, no shit. I didn't expect to come home from grocery shopping to find Church, of all people, invading my dead neighbors house." I admitted as the bartender came back. 

"Another one?" He asked, taking my glass. 

"Beer please." I answered. 

"Make it two. And put this one on my tab." Gunner spoke up. Within seconds, the bartender came back with two more beers with the caps already off. I thanked him before taking a swig. 

"Why don't you come crash at my place for the night if you got no where to go." Gunner suggested.

"Oh, no. I-I couldn't." I  stammered. 

"Why not?" He asked. 

"I couldn't repay you." I told him. 

"Buy me another drink and we can call it even." He said with a grin. I smiled and nodded. 

"Sounds like a plan." 

~

2 hours and 3 drinks later, we found ourselves at a cheap  diner close to Gunner's apartment. Fries seem much more appetizing when you've consumed alcohol before hand. 

"For being in a pretty sketchy area, this diner ain't half bad." Gunner stated as he finished his burger. 

"This place must be heaven when you're stoned." I said leaning against the window with my fries in hand and my feet up on the seat of the booth. Gunner only laughed and copied what I was doing. The people working the diner didn't seem to care since it was practically dead, which seemed weird since it was only around 7, maybe closer to 8. It was peacefully quiet util a few teenage boys came barging in wearing ski  masks. Gunner and I seemed unfazed, but the people working started to  panic. One of the boys pulled out a gun and I looked over in his direction, confused. 

"Open the register! NOW!" He screamed as the other marched over to us, holding another hand gun. I looked at him with a bored expression. 

"Wallets and phones, now." He demanded. I looked at him and then over to see an older lady beginning to open the register. 

"Don't open that register ma'am!" I called over to her. She looked at me shocked as the boy holding the gun towards her yelled at her to open in. 

"I said, wallets and phones now!" The boy in front of me screamed. Before he knew what hit him, I raised my leg and kicked him in the arm. The gun flew out of his hand and Gunner caught it with lightning speed. I wrapped my leg around the boys arm and threw him into the table. Gunner got up and dealt with the boy up front while the lady at the register screamed and hid behind the counter, another worker on the phone. 

The boy tried to fight back, but I let go and he fell to the floor. I stood up and jumped out of the booth as he stood up. He tried to run, but I ran after him and took him down to the ground, rugby style. I turned him on his back and punched him once in the face. It was enough to stun him until I ripped the string out of his hoodie. I turned him onto his stomach and pinned his hands behind his back and tied them with the string before a worker came over with duct tape. 

"I found this in the janitors closet." He told me. I took it from him and tied the boys hands with it before rolling it over to Gunner who had the kid bent over the counter, his forehead bleeding through the ski mask. I stood up as the boy I took down tried to squirm out of the tape. I heard sirens in the distance as Gunner finished tying up the other kid before looking over at me. 

"We should probably go." I said. Gunner nodded in agreeance as we grabbed our things and ran out to our bikes. I threw my helmet on, not bothering to tie it up before starting my bike and Gunner doing the same. I saw the red and blue lights flashing along some buildings as Gunner lead the way out of the parking lot. I followed and we booked it down the street before the cops got to  the diner. 

Within 10 minutes, Gunner pulled in front of an apartment complex that looked like one of those dingy places you see in the movies where all your neighbors are screaming at each other or kids are crying. I pulled up behind him as he shut off his bike and got off. I did the same before taking my helmet off. I followed Gunner as he pushed his bike onto the dirt lawn and parked it beside the building before covering it with a tarp. I looked up at the fire escape and saw multiple broken windows boarded up. Without warning, Gunner took my bike and moved it closer to his, covering both of our bikes  with  the tarp before beginning to walk  up the fire escape  stairs. 

"Wait, you don't go in through the front door?" I asked. I was quick to follow him and catch up. 

"Nope. I avoid my neighbors that way." He answered. We walked up the fire escape until we were at  the 6th floor. He stopped and leaned over the rail with his knife out. I watched as he wiggled his knife under the window before a single _click_ was heard and he  pushed the window up. 

"You know, as you do." I mumbled to myself as he climbed over the rail and through the window. I heard the sound of his boots hitting the floor before he held his  hand out. I followed his movements as I climbed over the rail and he pulled me through  the window before setting me down on my feet. I stepped out of the way as he shut and locked the window. 

I looked around his apartment. It was plain, but clean for the most part. Old bottles sat on what I assumed was the kitchen table, there was a single couch in front of a coffee table in front of the TV stand. The  couch had blankets thrown all over it like he slept there instead of his own bed. 

"Sorry 'bout the mess. I don't get visitors often." He told me before walking into the kitchen area and trying to move beer bottles out of the way. 

"Shit, you call this messy?" I  questioned, motioning to the whole apartment. "You should have seen my house before I cleaned it. My bedroom alone was worse than this whole apartment." I told him. He  had grabbed a garbage bag  out from under the sink and began putting bottles inside. 

"Oh, really?" He questioned, with  a grin. 

"Yeah, I slept on my couch instead of my own bed because you couldn't see my bed. Torn and bloody work  clothes everywhere, towels and shit like that." I told him, walking down the hall towards two more doors. 

"You know, as you do." he said, repeating what I said at the window. He must have heard me say it, although it wasn't my  intention. I walked down the hallway and saw the bathroom. Still cleaner than mine was. All there was, was a single towel hanging on the door along with a hand towel near the sink. The closed door at the end of the  hall must be his  bed room so I turned back around and walked towards  the kitchen. 

"There's not much to this place really. I'm sure it's not as fancy  as your house is." He said with  a chuckle. 

"Oh please! My house is the farthest thing from fancy." I told him, pulling a chair out from the table and sitting down. 

"Probably still better than this dingy place." He said, clearing the empty bottles from the kitchen table before placing the bag of bottles and garbage at the door. 

"I  mean, you could  be living in a cardboard box downtown with  the rest of the bums." I told him. He thought for a second before nodding. 

"Fair point, fair point." He said before walking down the hall. He  moved out of sight so I moved from the  chair to the couch. I moved some blankets out of the way and sat down. 

"Woah, fuck." I said out loud as I sunk into the couch. It wasn't a bad thing either, this couch was probably more comfy than mine. 

"You alright?" Gunner asked from the hall. 

"You have the comfiest couch in the world." I answered as he walked out from the hall. He took one look at me before chuckling and walking back down the hall. 

"You wanna take  the couch or do you want the bed?" He asked from the bathroom. 

"I'll take the couch. Mostly because I don't think I want to get up from it." I answered. I heard him laugh from the  hall before his foot steps got farther away, meaning he probably went to his bedroom. I  adjusted the pillow so it was tucked under my arm as I leaned against the arm rest. I rested my head in my hand as I pulled out the emergency phone. No missed calls, no activity. It meant  they were probably still in the neighborhood. I put that phone back in my pocket before taking out my personal phone. 

**1 missed call from Christmas🎅**

I smiled once I saw his contact name, forgetting I had changed it  from 'Lee'. Instead of calling back, I sent him a quick text. 

 _'Hey, sorry I missed your call. Was it anything important?'_   

I closed my messages before turning the silent mode off and leaving it on vibrate. Gunner came back into the room with another bag of trash. I gave him a questioning look. 

"Late  night cleaning, much?" I  questioned. He just shrugged. 

"I felt motivated, I guess." He said. I moved my legs closer to myself as he sat down on the couch next to me. I felt my phone buzz in my hand and turned it on to see Lee had texted me back. 

 _ **'I stopped by your house to see if you kept your promise, but saw Church and the CIA there at your neighbors house. Everything alright?'**_   

I sighed as Gunner peaked over at my phone. 

"Who's that?" He asked. 

"Christmas. Apparently he was at my house after I left." I answered before texting back. 

 _'Yeah, I talked to Church. He told me to get out of the neighborhood so I left. They caught onto Sean.'_  

I sent the text and shut my phone off. 

"I knew you two would get along eventually." Gunner told me before switching on the TV. My phone buzzed again. 

"Sweet Jesus, this guy responds faster than my sister does." I said out loud before opening my messages. 

_**'Still need a place to crash?'** _

I opened my camera and turned to face Gunner. I took a picture as he was still focused on the TV before sending it to Christmas. 

_'Nah, I found this lunatic at the bar instead.'_

I sent the text as Gunner realized I took his picture. 

"What are you doing?" He questioned, looking over at my phone again. 

"Nothing!" I said, hiding the screen from him. I guess he took it as a challenge because he leaned over trying to see. 

"Come on, tell me." He said before reaching for my phone. I moved it out of his reach, forgetting his arms are probably longer than mine. He poked me once in the side and grabbed my phone while I was distracted before sitting up. 

"No, give it back." I said, lunging for it. 

" _'I found this lunatic at the bar'_ , really?" He questioned, holding me back with  one hand. I fought against him, trying to get my  phone as he opened the camera again. I knew I could easily beat him and get my phone back, but it was like my brain said 'no, fuck you' instead. Before I knew it, he sent a picture of me trying to get my phone back from him to Christmas. 

  _'Haha, stole her phone.'_  

_**'What the hell is wrong with you two?'** _

_'Nothing. Why do you ask?'_

** _'....'_ **

~~~~"I think he's done, talking to us now." Gunner said, giving me my phone back.

"I wonder why." I said, leaning back over to my  side of the  couch, hiding my phone from him. Gunner only laughed at me before he went back to watching TV. We watched some movie channel for a few hours, occasionally making small talk or making fun of the badly filmed action scenes. It was closer to 10:30 when I started to feel tired. I rested my head on my arm instead of my hand, but my hand rested on my head. Gunner had gone quiet, probably focusing more on the movie. My eye lids got heavier as the movie we were watching seemed to drone on and on and on. 

I fell asleep sooner than I thought just as the movie ended, but a new one started, except I was too busy sleeping to  care about the next movie. 

**~End of Chapter 12~**


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